Undistinguished HP
by DimitriLuver
Summary: Veronica Green is a simple and average half-blood. Hidden in plain sight and blending into the background are what she does best. Until her fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when a series of accidental encounters puts her in the forefront of the mind of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. WARNING: This is going to be kept as canon as possible :)
1. Prologue

As she stepped through the wall that led to the magical platform with her mother on her left, holding onto her shoulder, her senses came alive. Her large brown eyes shone with wonder as she got lost in her surroundings. The loud busy platform was filled with people and although she could feel her mother pulling her out of people's way as they came bustling past them, she felt alone and lost - almost as if she didn't belong among these interesting and vibrant witches and wizards preparing to step onto the train.

The loud screeching whistle shook her out of her thoughts as a feeling of dread filled her head, weighing down on top of her shoulders. Her father came marching up to her and her mother with a huge grin stretching across his entire face. "Well," his booming voice echoed through her body "we're finally here, Platform 9 3/4!" Johnathan Green heaved a sigh as he glanced around the station, memories filling his mind of the many times he stood in that very spot, seemingly a lifetime ago. "Oh, how things change" he murmured making eye contact with Abigail Green, his beautiful wife.

Abigail sent a warm look back to Johnathan before leaning down and kissing her daughter's cheek whilst she fiddled with her long straight brown hair. "You better hurry onto the train Veronica, we don't want to have you being in a rush now do we?" said Abigail with a soft and calm presence that never failed to calm Veronica down.

This false sense of security is what made her step onto the train that day and her mother's encouraging words about making friends and writing home about all of her apparently upcoming and exciting adventures filled Veronica with a hope that her initial bad feelings were just irrational and nothing to worry about.

She can distinctly recall her mother and fathers proud excited faces staring back at her as the train slowly gained speed while departing from the station. She can also recall a voice in the back of her mind screaming to be let off the train, as a deep feeling of regret and terror weighed her down.

She sat down in a carriage alone, listening to the many excited voices throughout the train as people made friends or met up with old friends after a long summer and although every other carriage seemed filled to the brim, no one came to sit with or talk to Veronica, in fact, people barely even looked her way, as if she was invisible to them.

The closest she got to talking to someone was when she gave a dishevelled mousy boy around her age a small shake of her head and an apologetic glance as he burst into her carriage asking about a toad before he quickly shut the door again and carried on down the train.

The journey passed neither quickly nor slowly and Veronica sat there staring out of the window every now and then as if in a trance. Soon she would become used to the feeling of being alone, or so she made herself believe, trying to force those irrational thoughts of loneliness to the back of her mind.

The rest of the evening was a blur as she and the other first years took a short but mesmerising boat ride up to the famous castle that was supposed to make people feel welcomed and warm but has yet to make Veronica feel anything but sadness. Not even after being sorted into Hufflepuff did she feel as if she belonged, sitting on the table throughout dinner surrounded by others her age. It seemed no one was bothered by her as they were all too busy staring at and discussing the life of Harry Potter.

Of course, she'd heard of him, who hasn't? But she didn't see the need to ogle him like everyone else was, nor did she want to join in conversations that were centred around his heroic yet terrifying backstory. Which was probably another reason why no one spoke to her the entire night, including her roommates Susan, Hannah and Megan who continued to gossip about the Boy Who Lived until she finally managed to drift off to sleep, dreaming of home and how she wished she was back there.


	2. Chapter 1

As life went on for Veronica she realised just how much the gift of magic was wasted on her. She used to be filled with such excitement when she was a little girl first discovering her abilities. Her parents would tell her tales of Hogwarts, a brilliant school where special people like her went to learn how to control and use these abilities to do almost anything they wanted. Veronica especially loved listening to the story of how her parents met and quickly fell in love, making them both tell her their perspectives on what she saw as the most beautiful tale to ever be told.

She grew up counting down the days until she could finally walk the hallways her parents once walked, learn the spells that she watched her parents effortlessly perform around the house every day and live through the experiences they did, as well as find that special person, the same way her parents found each other. However, Veronica was quick to realise once she arrived that Hogwarts was not the same as the stories she grew up on and the dreams she had of her future came crashing down.

oOo

Veronica walked into the Great Hall early on Monday morning walking slowly to the Hufflepuff table in order to make the most of her quiet time before it got ruined by the loud and obnoxious crowd of Hogwarts students, that is then usually followed by a banging headache that Veronica will have to deal with for the rest of the day.

She is currently busy nibbling on a bagel with cream cheese when she is spooked into looking up after something hits the table in front of her. Her eyes travelled from the Muggle Studies textbook that was now occupying the space, up the arms and all the way to the face of the owner of the textbook, her only friend Ernie Macmillan.

Well if she could call it a friendship. In her first year, she would always see Ernie in the Great Hall at breakfast, up early like her and so one of the few students sitting at the table. When they got sat next to each other in Herbology in their second year was when they started having short conversations, about mostly anything. He started sitting with her at breakfast but other than that they spend little time outside of classes together, Veronica understanding that Ernie has other friends that shes sure are better company than she is and she isn't that bothered, just happy to have someone there every now and again.

Except judging by Ernie's face today's conversation wasn't going to be simple small talk or an easy conversation to pass the time because Ernie's face was practically bursting with excitement as he kept eyeing the large shining goblet at the front of the Great Hall, which Veronica was trying very hard to ignore due to the horrible chills she got the previous night when she first saw it following the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament.

"You'll never guess who I overheard in the common room talking about entering the Tournament earlier!" Ernie said his voice rising with anticipation after every word. She barely had time to gesture for him to continue before he carried on "Diggory! I bet he would be an amazing champion don't you?!" He stared down at Veronica eager to hear her thoughts but only slightly deflating when all the brunette gave him was a timid shrug. "C'mon Ronnie you need to show more house pride! Imagine how good it would feel if the Hogwarts Champion was a Hufflepuff! Finally getting the recognition we deserve and shoving it up the other houses-" She quickly intervened with a firm but quiet cough, due to the looks from some of the students of other houses gave Ernie as the Hall began to fill up.

"You need to learn to monitor your surroundings before announcing your opinions so loudly Ernie, it could get you into trouble one day" she muttered to him, her pale features flushing from the sudden attention directed their way. Ernie barely acknowledged it, nodding to her before flopping down onto the seat opposite her and chomping into some toast.

They ate in almost silence after that, with Ernie occasionally commenting on certain articles written in the Daily Prophet that she'd already finished reading before he sat down. She wasn't in the mood to talk, that's nothing out of the ordinary, but what she does consider strange is the apprehensive feeling she couldn't quite shake off, ever since Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament last night. She remembers her blood running cold and a sudden bolt of bad energy run through her brain once her eyes landed on the goblet that was dramatically unveiled in front of the students. She seemed to be the only one as everyone else was buzzing from excitement and so shes tried to forget about it, quite successfully too until Ernie brought it up again.

Eventually, she got up from her seat and exited the Great Hall, the majority of the school now eating their breakfast made quite a ruckus and so she left to engage in her thoughts in a safer and calmer environment. She wasn't worried about leaving Ernie as she noticed Hannah Abbott jogging over to him, probably to talk more about all the information they received last night, especially the two international schools that were due to arrive in about a months time.

oOo

A few days later Veronica is walking up the steps of the Owlery to write to her parents as she always did to inform them of how her first few days of the term were coming along, as well as letting them know about the upcoming Tournament which shes sure they already know about.

As she rounds the corner at the top of the stairs she pauses, noticing that she was in fact not alone in the room, as there among the flocks of owls was Harry Potter, his backed turned as he scribbles onto a parchment, but she knew it was him due to the messy black hair atop his head and the Gryffindor robes. She gets a small glimmer of panic rush through her, as she does whenever left alone with somebody with the fear of having to make small talk, but it is increased as he turns around and notices she's there.

Suddenly her body freezes, staring at the boy with wide eyes as if she's been caught doing something she shouldn't be. Her heart races and her brain goes into overdrive as she thinks of something to say to make the situation feel any less awkward. Thoughts such as 'Helga he must think I'm a freak' are running through her mind until she finally pays attention and notices he's not even looking at her anymore and is tying a finished letter to his snowy white owl. Then he gets up and walks out, not even bothered by the small girl still standing there.

Veronica heaves a large relieved sigh, before using one of the many messenger owls that Hogwarts has to send her letter home and then leaving continuing on with her life.

But she couldn't get the interaction with the green-eyed boy out of her mind, thinking about it non-stop for a while as if that one moment meant so much to her. But the brief meeting was already gone from Harry's as soon as he stepped out of the Owlery that day.

That was the first time.


	3. Chapter 2

Veronica was only slightly off-put by the new DADA teacher, Professor Moody. Her and everyone else at Hogwarts found him slightly creepy, but she didn't want to judge someone based on their appearance. After all, he has dedicated his life to keeping the Wizarding World safe, so who is she to complain about him or the way he teaches.

The way she felt about their professor didn't change, even after their first lesson with him, when he decided to go completely off syllabus and teach them about Unforgivable Curses. Veronica was actually quite pleased with his more rough and tough teaching methods, as she wanted to be as prepared as possible for the outside world. Especially after what she heard happened at the Quidditch World Cup, she'd prefer to learn how to defend herself sooner rather than later.

That, of course, didn't stop most of the students from freaking out after the DADA lesson and as they were walking down the hallway she allowed herself to be dragged along by Ernie as he and Hannah had a heated discussion about their opinions on Professor Moody.

"He needs to be put in his place!" exclaimed Hannah as she stomped through the many students lingering in the corridor. "I can't believe he would carelessly perform those awful curses right in front of us!" She continued to rant, getting her anger out on Veronica and Ernie as they made it to the courtyard. Ernie nodding along, his face still pale, but slowly gaining back colour, from watching Moody control, torture then murder the spider. Veronica was barely listening as she stumbled alongside them, tripping up her own feet, she had the slightest of suspicions that Hannah wasn't just mad because of the curses but because of her feelings for a certain blonde Gryffindor.

Ernie must've seen it as well when he smiled at Hannah and said: "I bet you wish you could find Longbottom and console him huh?". Hannah quickly shut her mouth and hurried away, but Veronica could just about make out the blush forming on Hannah's face as she dipped her head to face the floor.

After watching her walk away with a smug smile on his face, Ernie turns to Veronica. "How did you feel about that DADA lesson Ronnie?" he questioned curiously. Once again, Veronica looks at him for a few seconds then shrugs her shoulders. "I honestly wasn't too bothered, it was a bit intense but for once I actually learned something"

Ernie eyes her for a moment then gave a quick nod accepting her answer "Yeah I can see where you're coming from, at least we have a proper professional teaching us this year". Veronica completely agreed.

 **oOo**

As the weeks went by, Veronica quickly settled into Hogwarts again, establishing an everyday routine of meeting Ernie for breakfast, getting through her lessons before retreating to the library for some quiet time. And even though she seemed as busy as ever, she still felt hopelessly bored.

Before she knew it the day had finally come, the arrival of the students from Durmstrang and Beuxbatons, and Veronica soon found herself standing outside alone, surrounded by fellow Hufflepuffs, waiting for the schools to show up. She didn't really care about this Tournament and she has previously found herself getting frustrated when teachers snapped at students more than usual about dress code and manner, as well as finding the numerous decorations unnecessary.

They'd been standing there for what seemed like forever when finally whispers turned into shouts and Veronica looked up to see what people were pointing to. A large majestic horse-drawn carriage was flying through the clouds slowly descending towards them, and even she had to admit it was pretty impressive. Veronica herself found it hard to look away.

Everyone leaned forward trying to catch a glimpse of the students occupying this carriage as the door swung open, and suddenly gasps and comments were heard as Veronica noticed the woman that stepped out. She was huge, her freakishly tall frame was covered with some of the most extravagant robes Veronica had ever seen. All eyes were on this woman as she stepped forward and greeted Dumbledore with a booming voice, clarity clouded by her thick French accent "Dumblydore thank you for your kind greeting and offering us your castle to stay for the Tournament!". Even as the Beuxbatons students exited the carriage and pooled around this woman, all treading carefully and gracefully, the majority of people continued to stare at Madame Maxine, who Dumbledore was now directing inside.

Veronica noticed in particular many of the new arrivals looking around in distaste and grumbling to themselves and she suddenly felt a wave of animosity towards these stuck up French teenagers and knew they wouldn't be getting along very well.

Once again they were left standing outside, but not for long as many of the students were enthralled by the ship emerging from the whirlpool that had appeared in the middle of the Black Lake. It continued to rise out of the water, Veronica was astounded by the size and wondered how many students were on it and if a ship that large was entirely necessary or if they're using it as an intimidation tactic.

As the small crowd of students stepped off of the ship Veronica knew they were vastly different to the previous set of arrivals from Beuxbatons, who were clearly taught to be elegant and refined. The Durmstrang lot was large and daunting as their angry eyes remained forwards focusing on the interaction between the headmasters. Veronica wasn't afraid to admit that the Headmaster of Durmstrang gave off bad vibes and she made a promise then and there to avoid that man at all costs during his stay at Hogwarts. His icy eyes seemed to stare straight through Dumbledore as they spoke, his deep, gravelly voice barely audible while he whispered quickly to the old and cheerful wizard.

 **oOo**

They were now all seated in the Great Hall, the Beuxbatons delegates sitting with the Ravenclaw and Durmstrang with the Slytherins, both houses now sitting there smug as if they'd been chosen especially for the new guests. Veronica was curious as to why people were so interested in one of the Durmstrang boys in particular and when she leaned over to ask Ernie who he was, many of the people sitting around them stared at her in disbelief. "You don't know who Viktor Krum is!?" exclaimed Hannah, causing Veronica to flush slightly once she heard the Bulgarian seeker's familiar name. She knew who Krum was, but she'd never seen his picture before, so she hurriedly explained that to Hannah and Ernie, and people quickly went back to what they were doing before, paying no mind to the small blushing brunette anymore.

Veronica was pulled from her thoughts by the crowded Hall gasping in shock, she glanced towards the front of the room and noticed the Goblet now protruding very prominent red flames as Dumbledore explained that any potential champions were to enter the Tournament by writing their name and their school on parchment paper before placing the paper into the fire. The Goblet would then choose a Champion for each school, which would be announced in the coming weeks.

After they were dismissed it was a mad rush out of the Great Hall, louder and bigger than usual due to the increased number of people now at Hogwarts. Veronica wasn't in a rush and stood behind the crowds, her mind elsewhere as she now tried to understand why she felt so cold and scared, almost as if she could feel the Goblet staring back at her, the image of the flames still reflecting in the back of her eyes.


	4. Chapter 3

**oOo**

The next day was hectic. The Great Hall was constantly packed with students from all three schools, all watching the Goblet of Fire, to see who would be entering their name, and thus their life, into this Tournament.

That means Veronica's usually quiet breakfast was interrupted by cheering, yelling, whispering and gossiping students surrounding her. One of them being her closest acquaintance Ernie MacMillan, who refuses to let her leave, despite her numerous attempts to get out of her seat and take off to somewhere more peaceful, as he has a firm grip on her arm.

She was slowly losing all patience that she once had, every time she hears someone talking about this Tournament she gets more and more annoyed at them. Veronica has now had to stop herself from forgetting self-control and screaming at the other fourth years around her to shut up. After all, no one would listen to her, they never have and probably never will.

Veronica just doesn't seem to understand why everyone cares so much about this Tournament. Not only are the majority of people not old enough to take part, but who would want to win eternal fame and glory anyway, sounds tiring. She would much rather be cooped up in the library or her room with a good book or even walking around Hogsmeade quietly window shopping. But instead, she's in the Great Hall watching people get excited over a bloody murdering match. It seems she's the only one who remembers the warnings Dumbledore gave at the start of term when the Triwizard Tournament was first announced. For once Veronica wanted to get through a school year where no one was in danger of being killed.

A sudden cheer from the Gryffindor table pulls her out of her thoughts. Veronica turns to see the commotion, as well as every other person in the room but rolls her eyes when she finds the Weasley twins as the source of the noise. They seem to be holding up tubes filled with some sort of potion and presenting it to their fellow Gryffindors. "Aging potion" she hears Hannah tell Susan. Veronica was puzzled as she had thought that it would be pointless trying an ageing potion on Dumbledore's age line situated around the Goblet. She may not be the smartest of students, usually achieving Acceptable in most of her exams, but she definitely had faith in Dumbledores magic.

She apparently wasn't completely wrong with her previous assumptions about the potion, as she saw the twins getting into a particularly heated debate with the smart, bushy-haired girl Veronica knows as Hermione Granger whose in a few of the Hufflepuff's classes, but she has never spoken to herself.

The twins shrugged Hermione's warning off and after one swig of the potion jump over the age line and place their names into the cup. At first, Veronica believed it to have worked and let out an astonished exclamation, but suddenly a blue beam of light shot out of the Goblet followed by pieces of parchment that hit the gingers in the chest and flung them back onto the floor by the Gryffindor table and just out of Veronica's line of sight.

Even if she couldn't see them herself, the laughter following their fall and sounds of them scuffling around on the floor blaming each other let her know that something grand had happened to them as a result. Ernie turned towards her with humour in his eyes and a large grin on his face. "I bet they've grown long white beards like Dumbledores. I heard a few other people have tried that already today and are in the hospital wing right now" he informed her, which was only confirmed when Dumbledore turned up also with an amused grin on his face and sent the twins to be treated.

 **oOo**

The rest of the day continued in the same fashion as before and Veronica noted a few familiar faces placing their names in the Goblet that afternoon, such as Viktor Krum, followed by a bunch of his fellow Durmstrang friends, and Cedric Diggory, which led to a huge cheer from the Hufflepuff students - Ernie included.

By the time evening had rolled around Veronica was officially sick and tired of watching and listening to people talk about the Goblet and the upcoming Tournament and was more than ready to go to sleep, a throbbing headache starting to appear from around her eyes and in the back of her head.

Firstly though, she'll have to sit through the Halloween Feast, which she was initially excited for until it became clear that the focus of the feast would be on the announcement of the Triwizard Champions following the meal and her mood soon became sour again.

After Dumbledore had silenced the chattering students, he quickly became serious and started his speech about the Tournament and going over what each of the Champions would be required to do. Veronica yawned quietly, thinking that Dumbledore was dragging this out as long as he possibly could most likely to create anticipation and tension in the room, but was only making her more tired.

Finally, the blue fire appearing out of the centre of the Goblet turned a rich red colour and a long flame fired from the top, with a single piece of parchment flying out with it, in a way that reminded her of the earlier event with the Weasley twins who were now back to normal, sitting at the Gryffindor table as invested as everyone else in what was going to happen next.

"The champion from the Durmstrang Institute is..." Dumbledore paused for dramatic effect as he snatched the parchment out of the air "... Viktor Krum!". The seemingly obvious choice that Veronica could've told anyone would happen, but apparently struck everyone else as a big revelation, was followed by a thunderous applause as the other Durmstrang boys stomped their feet and slammed their hands together as a show of support for the young seeker as he sauntered towards the front of the room, shook hands with Dumbledore and disappeared into the back room followed by Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang.

The hall quickly went quiet again as the flaming red sparks reappeared out of the Goblet and the second piece of parchment flew into Dumbledore's waiting hand. "The Champion from Beauxbatons is, Fleur Delacour!" shouted Dumbledore, which was once again followed by cheering, mainly from the males in the Hall, and Veronica understood why as a beautiful light silver blonde, gracefully stood up, gliding towards the back room, her giant of a headmistress leading the way.

This time, the air seemed thicker as the third and final parchment took a flight out of the Goblet as the entirety of the Hogwarts population locked their eyes onto Dumbledore, not a single sound being made as the wise Headmaster looked down onto the parchment. "And finally, the champion from Hogwarts is... Cedric Diggory!" An applause to rival Krum's emerged from the Hufflepuff side of the room as the boy in question rose from his seat, stopping along his way to the front to hug and shake hands with a few friends.

Ernie was having a field day next to Veronica as he shook her shoulders and proceeded to claim that he "told her so". She may not be interested in this Tournament and saw it as an awful idea but had to admit she felt the slightest pride in having Hufflepuff finally get the glory, however as she watched Cedric disappear into the back room, a massive grin on his face, her brain started banging against her skull. The feeling was something she'd never felt before as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the table.

The pain she felt was so intense, she barely registered that the Goblet had once again lit up, spitting flames as a fourth parchment was thrust at Dumbledore. A grim feeling filled her stomach and Veronica felt she would throw up her magnificent dinner any second. Dumbledore spun around to face the crowd, his eyes seemed to be searching the Gryffindor table as he screamed angrily across the Hall, his voice echoing around the castle "HARRY POTTER!".

 **oOo**


	5. Chapter 4

oOo

"Honestly who does he think he is?!" exclaimed Ernie at breakfast the next morning. Veronica thinks back to the night before just after Harry's name was announced and recalls the various reactions across the room; confusion, anger and disappointment to name a few, but what struck her as the oddest is that when she thinks back to Harry's face just after it was announced he looked completely and utterly confounded. If it was any other Gryffindor who put their name in the Goblet, got away with it and was then announced as a champion, they would've been grinning and taking in all the fame. But strangely enough, this was the opposite of Harry Potter's reaction.

Veronica had the weirdest idea that maybe Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet, nor did he even know he was entered. But one look on Ernie's face told her that she should keep these thoughts as they were, thoughts- because Helga forbids what would happen if she told Ernie that she thought Harry was innocent.

"I don't know what he was thinking Ernie, but we'll just have to get over it because Dumbledore has already stated that once the Goblet chooses you there's no going back," she says calmly trying to get him to see that it's not as bad as he thought it was. But to no avail, Ernie was the maddest Veronica's ever seen him, and even long after their conversation she could hear him over the Daily Prophet muttering about how the Gryffindors always get all the attention despite breaking the rules.

oOo

By the time lessons are over for the day, Veronica could sense the divide forming over the students of Hogwarts, this was only increased by the badges that somehow seemed to appear out of nowhere and by midday everyone passing her in the corridors were wearing them. These badges were yellow and on them were bright letters spelling out ' _Support Cedric Diggory, the REAL Hogwarts Champion'_ before transforming green and the words ' _Potter Stinks_ ' flashing in bright green.

Veronica could only imagine the animosity that the students must be feeling towards Harry and despite never talking to the boy before, felt the slightest bit of sympathy for the messy black haired Gryffindor. It's because of that sympathy that Veronica managed to successfully avoid the badges all day and no one came up to offer one to her either. That was until dinner came round.

Ernie marched up to her interrupting her meal to slap a badge down in front of her and throwing himself into the seat next to her. "Look what the Slytherins have been handing out all day!" he said excitedly. Veronica glances down at the badge uninterestedly and pointedly looks back up at Ernie with a questioning look on her face. "Ernie is all of this really necessary, I know that you're not happy with what happened but really now this is just bullying", she tried to explain to Ernie but he simply doesn't want to listen.

"I expect you to wear the badge Ronnie, I specifically picked one up for you because I thought you wanted to support Cedric", Ernie pushed her to put it on, guilt-tripping her with the idea of house pride.

Veronica sighed and reluctantly picked up the badge, bringing it close to her face to examine it before slowly pinning it onto her breast pocket. "Okay fine, I'll wear it" she murmured, with the full intention to throw it away the second she got out of the Great Hall. Ernie, satisfied with his ability to persuade Veronica, nodded once more at her then took off down the Hufflepuff table, with what looks like more badges to hand out.

With Ernie gone, Veronica quickly packed her things away no longer hungry and left the Great Hall to go back to her room for the rest of the evening. As she walked through the Entrance Hall she was roughly pushed to the side by a tall, skinny ginger boy who stormed past in the opposite direction, obviously too angry to turn around and apologise to her.

She dusted herself off with a frustrated sigh and her eye caught sight of the badge still pinned to her robe. Quickly she grabbed the badge, ripped it off and threw it to the ground, stamping on it once before kicking it to the side. She watched it hit the stone wall before turning to leave, intending to leave it there.

As she turned around she noticed a certain Boy Who Lived standing there who seemed to be watching as she let her anger out on the little yellow and green pin now tossed unwanted to the edge of the corridor.

Once she gave a startled gasp he looked up at her and her brown eyes connected with his emerald green pair. Frozen solid as she was once before, all she could think to do was nod once in his direction and then sprinted down the corridor towards the stairs, not looking back until she got to her common room.

If she had glanced back towards the boy she would've noticed a small smile appear on his face, as even though he'd just had one of the worst days of his life after encountering Rita Skeeter and witnessing his best friend glare angrily at him and then storm away, he now felt as if he wasn't completely hated and that comforted him slightly.

That was the second time.

oOo


	6. Chapter 5

**oOo**

Veronica loved Hogsmeade. For some reason, she always found comfort in the small village and saw it as a way to escape the hurried and messy lives that she is surrounded by at Hogwarts. Even when Hogwarts students piled into the village and to many others it seemed just as crowded if not busier than the corridors of the castle, Veronica always manages to find small quiet streets with empty benches and lesser-known shops scattered around, and that's where she finds herself today.

She couldn't stay for as long as she wanted to, she thought to herself as she reclined on a small wooden bench, staring up at the clouds sometimes watching as her breath came out in small mists when she took a large gulp of the crisp cold November air. Ernie made her promise to meet up with him and some of the other Hufflepuffs in their year at the Three Broomsticks later on in the day, supposedly to talk about group work they'd been assigned in Charms, even though she knew they'd spend the whole time gossiping about the Tournament.

With one final deep breath and a quick glance around the picturesque street, she heaved herself off of the bench to take a slow stroll into the bustling main center, where the popular pub just so happens to be found.

 **oOo**

Her suspicions were correct, she thought as she heard Hannah once again ask Ernie what she believed the First Task would be about. Veronica was slowly getting used to the constant talk about the Triwizard Tournament, and she's coming to terms with the fact that no matter where she goes or who she talks to, it will get brought up in conversation. However, that doesn't mean Veronica would ever actively join in with the discussion and so while opinions of the Tournament, the Tasks or the Champions are being aired, Veronica usually finds herself not paying attention and drifting her eyes to look at her surroundings.

This particular time, in the Three Broomsticks, led her to lay her eyes on Hermione Granger, a studious Gryffindor who almost always has the company of her friends. Which is why Veronica found it strange that Hermione was sitting in a large booth by herself, and the reason she carried on staring was the fact that the bushy brunette seemed to be talking to thin air.

She furrowed her brows and leaned in to pay a closer attention to the odd situation when out of nowhere a hand appeared and placed an empty pitcher, that she assumed once contained Butterbeer, onto the table next to Hermione before disappearing again.

Veronica jumped in her seat slightly after the hand made its appearance and looked around frantically to see if anyone else noticed the strange behaviour. Just as she was wondering if she should go over to Hermione in order to investigate further she saw Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor and Groundskeeper of Hogwarts, stroll up to the booth in question to talk to Hermione.

Hagrid then leaned in closer and whispered something to the location of the now invisible hand, before turning around and casually walking away.

By this point, Veronica lost all of the courage to go over and therefore did her best to push this odd situation to the back of her mind and forget about whatever it was she just witnessed because she knew frankly, it was none of her business.

 **oOo**

The morning of the First Task finally came round, much to everyone's excitement. The air in the Great Hall during breakfast was almost electric, with people buzzing back and forth with supportive banners, clothes, and facepaint decorating the population of Hogwarts. Veronica herself was surprised by the amount of supportive and friendly faces she saw repping Hufflepuff colours and thought maybe this Tournament wasn't a bad idea as she first thought, the infectiously happy surroundings influencing her opinions.

Ernie once again was impatiently dragging Veronica down towards the Quidditch Pitch, where the timid brunette hardly visits and so she couldn't tell what exactly had been altered in preparation for the Tournament, but according to everyone else, it looked drastically different. The main focus lay on the large white tent that has been attached to the side of the stands where, from what Veronica understood, the Champions and event coordinators would be gathered to discuss the upcoming task.

Once settled in her seat a few rows up from the front of the stands, Ernie turned to Veronica from talking to Hannah and handed her an extra large yellow banner to hold, which had Cedric's handsome face plastered on the front for everyone to see, with the words 'Go Diggory, Go!' in bold black along the top.

Mostly everyone quietened down as Ludo Bagman's loud obnoxious voice, enhanced by the magic speakers, echoed across the stadium, welcoming people to the Triwizard Tournament and explaining what the Champions, who were still in the tent and yet to be seen, had to complete to pass the first task.

Veronica was appalled to hear that they would be battling dragons, and the bad feeling that's been lingering in the back of her mind the past couple months intensified as Bagman told the crowd that each Champion had to collect a Golden Egg from the middle of the dragon's nest.

With the bang of the cannon, the first Champion was out, and it just so happened to be Cedric. The boy stood tall but with a glimmer of fear from the unknown in his stance, barely recognisable but Veronica still caught on. The dragon quickly pounced on Cedric as he tried to pass by and the second Veronica saw flames, she hid her face into the oversized scarf she had wrapped around her neck, the banner long gone from her hands and was held up in the air by a cheering Ernie and Hannah.

She heard the crowd gasp, cheer and flinch at different moments before finally, the stadium broke out in applause. Only then did she look back towards the arena to see Cedric holding onto the golden egg and smiling proudly, despite the painful looking blisters and burns on the side of his face. Veronica let out a relieved sigh, happy that nothing too bad had occurred before slowly clapping her hands together along with the rest of the school.

Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum completed their challenges, and Veronica zoned out, uninterested in the actions of the opposing school. Although she had noticed that Krum had tried to injure his dragon, making her pity the creature as it clearly only wanted to protect its young but was unable to do so due to the chains. She was also brought out of her thoughts once more when the lads in the crowd all fussed after Fleur's skirt began to burn off.

Harry Potter, the Champion that everyone had been waiting for finally stepped out of the tent, his lost eyes taking in the crowds in the stands before edging towards the egg in the middle of the area, seemingly without a plan of action in his mind.

Veronica felt an overwhelming sense of despair and worry for the Boy Who Lived once she noticed the dragon he had to go up against was by far the deadliest in the competition. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Harry for one second, which she found odd considering she could barely watch the last three rounds.

After a while of Harry just running away from the dragon and failing miserably, she heard Hermione scream out to him to use his wand - a necessity that Veronica saw as obvious and all the other Champions had used from the start. Although at first she was scared for Harry's safety due to him being far too young and having a clear lack of magical experience, it seemed she had little to worry about once she saw his broomstick fly towards him after he cast the summoning charm. Even after the dragon broke its chains and took off after the boy, Veronica had faith in Harry's flying ability and knew he would be perfectly fine.

Eventually, Harry had claimed his golden egg and the noise that came from the applauding crowd shook Veronica to her core, and she looked around to find everyone with massive smiles on their faces, chanting the Gryffindor's name.

She leaned towards Ernie and shouted in his ear "How comes everyone's supporting him now after treating him so badly before?", clearly confused by the students' reaction.

Ernie, still in a small hump over Harry taking Cedric's glory turned towards her and reluctantly admitted that Harry had definitely impressed him and probably surpassed everyone's expectations. This was confirmed when the scores came in to prove that Harry was now in joint first place with Viktor Krum, Cedric coming in second and Fleur last.

As they all stumbled up towards the castle, still buzzing with energy, Veronica saw Harry walking with his friend Ron Weasley, brushing Rita Skeeter off of him as she tried to ask a few questions. Ernie noticed the boys too and as they strolled past he leaned out and patted Harry on the shoulder giving him a 'Well done, mate" before walking ahead.

Veronica looked back and just about caught Harry's eye as she nodded at him and gave a small smile in congratulations. He was shocked at first before politely smiling back, then continuing his conversation with Ron as she caught up with Ernie, a nice warm feeling flushing her cheeks.

 **oOo**


	7. Chapter 6

**oOo**

Once the First Task was over, school seemed to get back on track. With teachers setting piles of homework and classes taking up the majority of people's attention, no one had the time to sit around gossiping about the Tournament and Veronica found herself welcoming the break from the constant distractions.

Of course, that atmosphere didn't last long as the announcement came from the Heads of Houses that there was going to be a Yule Ball at Hogwarts the evening of the 25th of December to celebrate the Champions and their efforts during the Triwizard Tournament. This propelled the excitement and discussions, except this time it was mainly the females at Hogwarts who began these conversations.

This was due to the encouragement from the teachers that it is tradition to bring a date to the Yule Ball and now the boys seem to be trying their very best to avoid the situation entirely.

Veronica wasn't one of those girls who desperately wanted a date to the Ball, in fact as soon as she heard the news, she expected that she would probably be going alone, that is if she ended up going at all. She's kept these thoughts to herself though, as, like every other teenage girl, the idea of being invited by someone did send a hopeful tingle through her. So she remained optimistic and happy on the outside, pretending that as the days went by and no one acknowledged her, she didn't feel that sense of abandonment that seemed to follow her around since she arrived at Hogwarts.

 **oOo**

As the days drifted into December, the snow started falling and Veronica deemed it too cold to go outside. She spent the majority of her time in the Library, catching up on homework or doing some recreational reading. Whatever it took to distract her from the seemingly neverending tensions around the castle as students hurried to find dates, organize their outfit and whatever else for the Yule Ball.

When she wasn't in the library, she was catching up on some sleep in her dorm or sitting in the Great Hall with Ernie, who has taken to spending more time with Veronica as she presented herself as the only normal, sane girl left in the castle.

It was early morning once again and the Hall was quite quiet, with only murmured conversations from the few students that were awake. Veronica and Ernie were sitting side by side near the end of the Hufflepuff table in a comfortable silence as they each enjoyed their breakfast.

Once the Hall started filling up more, the screech of owls from a distance let everyone know that the post was on its way. Veronica searches for her mother's owl, knowing that she was due a letter from home. What she didn't expect however was for the owl to appear carrying a large package neatly wrapped addressed to her.

Reading the letter that was attached, Veronica sighed and winced painfully, because somehow her mother had heard about the Ball that is coming up and insisted on sending her daughter a dress and shoes to wear for the aforementioned event. Veronica didn't have the heart to let her mother know that she probably won't even get the chance to wear the dress as she still hadn't been asked to the Ball by anyone. However, she knew she would still have to write to thank her mother kindly for the dress, and somehow get the message across that although it was a lovely gesture she won't be needing the dress any time soon.

That's how Veronica found herself in the Owlery later on that day, writing back to her mother to let her know about the predicament and also just letting her know how life was going at Hogwarts.

Usually, she paid no attention to any other students that are also in the Owlery but as Cho Chang left the room that day, a small shuffling made Veronica listen in, almost as if she could sense awkward scenarios before they happen.

Her ears perked as she heard the unmistakable voice of the one and only Harry Potter ask "I was just wondering if you would like to go to the Ball. With me?" he stuttered the first time and then cleared his throat and repeated himself.

Veronica felt her heart stop and her stomach drop once she registered what words she just heard come from the Champion's mouth. Why she felt this sudden depression on her heart she didn't know, as it's not the first time these past few weeks that shes heard someone being asked to the Ball.

The rational voice in the back of her mind tried to convince her that the pang of sadness was probably just a reaction to the gloomy reminder that no one would be saying those words to her, but for some reason, she knew that wasn't true. Especially once her mood lifted slightly once Cho rejected the boy because she's agreed to go with someone else.

 _Must be nice to have multiple admirers,_ thought Veronica as she heard Cho's footsteps get further away.

She quickly finished scribbling out a reply to her mother, tying it to an owl and as she turned to leave Harry walked into the room, his eyes focused on the floor with a sad glint in them as he recovers from that painful rejection.

Veronica suddenly felt shy and so she stuffed her face in her scarf to hide and scurried past the downtrodden boy. Though she didn't have any need to hide, as not once while they were in the room together did he look up, nor acknowledge her presence - his mind too focused on the Asian Ravenclaw who left earlier.

 **oOo**

At dinner, Veronica noticed she was not the only one who wasn't pleased with certain couples paired up for the Yule Ball. Hannah came storming in a little earlier and threw herself in between the brunette and Ernie, holding back angry tears as she informed them that Neville Longbottom had asked Ginny Weasley to the Ball.

"She's not even old enough to go! The teachers told us it was for fourth years and older!" exclaimed the girl while stabbing her food with her fork. Ernie winced as the stabs got more aggressive the more Hannah spoke about the subject.

"Yeah, but they said third years could go if someone invited them so -" He quickly shut up after he saw the look Hannah sent him and after that they sat in silence, no one else willing to be the subject of Hannah's anger.

Little did she know that Veronica understood how she was feeling completely, and even if she would never admit it out loud, Veronica felt that same anger, just not as intense. In fact, a better word to describe it would be disappointment.

 **oOo**


	8. Chapter 7

**oOo**

Ernie pulled Veronica to the side after breakfast, the day before the highly anticipated dance, with an interesting proposal that threw her slightly, not expecting it from him.

"I know it may not be what either of us had in mind, but I still think it would be more fun to spend the night with someone I actually get along with instead of asking a complete stranger. So what do you think?" He said it so casually as if he didn't just ask her to the Ball.

Veronica didn't know what to say, but as she looked around the room and knew she wouldn't find anyone else that wanted to go with her, she nodded reassuringly at Ernie, "Sure, we can go together, as friends though right?". Helga why does she have to be so awkward, she could've just said yes.

Ernie confirmed they were going as friends and then walked away, presumably to spend his holidays with his other friends. She watched him leave and tried to go over what just happened in her head. It's nice to know she would have someone to go with tomorrow but couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed that she didn't manage to find any potential romantic partners in a castle packed with students from three separate schools.

 **oOo**

That evening, Veronica is in her dorm room staring down at the package her mother sent her about a week ago that she has yet to open. She stuffed it under her bed after reading her mother's letter, in which she refused to accept it back and that Veronica should keep it 'just in case'.

She let out a sigh and started opening the package, holding her breath as she peaked at what her mother deemed 'too nice' to go to waste. Wha lay inside did surpass her expectations and took her breath away.

A shiny gold embroidered fabric was neatly folded inside, the vintage material soft with many layers of thin chiffon freely flowing at the bottom of the dress where it would hang nicely off of her frame and give her an elongated womanly form. It wasn't too large or extravagant where she would attract any attention, but she knew it was the perfect dress for her.

She then hung the dress up in the wardrobe ready for the following night before getting into bed and drifting off to sleep, now starting to feel excited about the Ball as she couldn't wait to dress up for once in her life.

 **oOo**

Christmas morning was vastly different this year to what Veronica was usually used to. This was the first time she'd stayed at Hogwarts over the break and therefore her first Christmas away from home. It felt strange to not be woken up by her parents shaking her gently before wishing her a 'Merry Christmas' but she must admit it didn't feel as lonely as she thought it would.

This is probably because of the sheer amount of people that stayed at Hogwarts in order to participate in the Yule Ball. The Great Hall was swarming with people, with ripped up wrapping paper all over the floor and abandoned empty Christmas crackers littering the tables. Veronica for the first time in a while felt content as she sat with the majority of the fourth year Hufflepuffs at breakfast, all stuffing their faces with a variety of different foods, conversing about the evening ahead.

Veronica decided to join in the discussion and found herself thinking that these people weren't so bad after all. Hannah had all out decided that she would be doing Veronica's hair and makeup for the Ball and made her promise that she would get ready with the rest of the Hufflepuff girls tonight.

The girl happily agreed, but soon regretted her decision once she was dragged to the dorms shortly after midday to start getting ready. When she asked why they were starting so early, Veronica got stared at with baffled eyes as the rest of the girls explained that, apparently "perfection takes time".

After having a shower and washing her hair, Veronica was seated on a chair where she sat impatiently for the next few hours while Hannah and Susan did her hair and painted her face. While this was happening she was forced to listen to them discuss the Champions and the Tournament in general.

Hannah starts raving about her date, a nice boy from Beauxbatons who shyly asked her to the Ball a few days after her meltdown about Neville and Ginny, which Veronica cleverly avoided bringing up thinking that Hannah is probably just trying to forget it ever happened, as she knows she's definitely pushed the memory of Harry asking Cho to the back of her mind.

Once all their hair and makeup was finished it was time to get dressed. Once Veronica had slipped her dress on she finally looked into the mirror and was shocked to find a pretty girl staring back at her with eyes lined gold and wavy flowing brown hair framing her face. She'd never felt this good in her life and felt a sudden boost of confidence that would hopefully allow her to fully enjoy her night.

 **oOo**

The Ball started off great, with her hand tucked into Ernie's elbow as they laughed and joked with a few of his friends. Once the food had been served, Veronica craftily sat with her back to the Champion's table so that it was impossible for her to keep glancing over as she was determined to make the most of this dance and not spend it glooming over a boy who doesn't even know that she exists.

Ernie and Veronica danced together once or twice to the more upbeat songs but eventually, his attention was drawn away to a stunning blonde French girl who had been looking his way all evening and Veronica was left sitting alone.

She looked around the room and took in the beautiful icy blue decorations that hung from the ceilings and the large Christmas trees at every corner of the Hall. As much as she hated to admit it, the scene was very romantic and she was sure if she was here with a boy it would feel magical.

However she was not here with anyone and her only friend had left her to schmooze with someone better than her, leaving Veronica feeling lonely once again. So she decided to leave early, the happy couples and groups of friends around her enveloping her into a grumpy mood.

While she was exiting the room and heading towards the stairs, not looking where she was going, she crashed into somebody who was hastily walking inside from the courtyard situated outside the entrance hall. She was thrown to the ground, unprepared for the collision and as she looked up at the intruder of her personal space, she found herself staring into the eyes of Harry Potter.

"Sorry about that" he apologised offering his hand to help her back up.

"It's okay, I wasn't looking at where I was going. It's my fault" she muttered finding herself lost in his emerald green eyes as she sees them up close for the first time.

Harry stares back at her before his name was called out by a distressed looking Hermione demanding to know where he'd been. Veronica had to admit Hermione looked beautiful with her periwinkle dress and smoothed hair, but she noticed the tears streaming down her face as the Gryffindor girl avoided looking at the ginger standing behind her also gesturing for Harry.

Veronica noticed the tense atmosphere and so quickly excused herself, ripping her hand from Harry's grip and stumbling away down the corridor, unaware of the lasting impression she made on the Potter boy, who didn't even realise himself as he watched her walk away.

 **oOo**


	9. Chapter 8

**oOo**

The week after the Yule Ball passed uneventfully and before she knew it the holidays were over and Veronica was back to attending classes every day.

One morning she was sitting at breakfast, and as she'd accidentally slept in it was a little later than she usually did, and overheard Hannah and Ernie talking about a new substitute teacher that took the Care of Magical Creatures class. Veronica doesn't take that class, purely because she was only allowed to pick two elective courses and chose Arithmancy and Divination.

Hannah was expressing her admiration for Professor Grubly-Plank's teaching methods while Ernie sat and listened to the girl. Apparently, Hagrid had always taught in a dangerous way, teaching his students about creatures that could easily harm or kill you instead of following the required syllabus and the new teacher was much safer.

If Veronica hadn't read the Daily Prophet a couple of days ago then she would have asked Hannah why there was a substitute teacher replacing the usual Professor, because it was rare and seen as odd for that to occur at Hogwarts. However, she, along with everyone else and their parents, have read Rita Skeeter's latest article about the usual Care of Magical Creatures professor and was informed of his true genetic pool, that he was an official half-giant.

Many parents didn't take this very well and had apparently written letters to Dumbledore demanding their children not be taught by some out of control monster who may end up injuring them or worse.

Veronica didn't see what the big deal was as she believed anyone who has ever met Hagrid or even just seen him from afar would probably have guessed that he had some sort of giant gene in him. He was massive, far larger than a regular man and once she read the article she can proudly say she wasn't surprised, nor did she care as even though she's never spoken to him, she knew he only had the best intentions in mind. Not to mention Dumbledore trusts him and so that's all that mattered to her - and her parents agreed.

 **oOo**

A few weeks come and go, and Veronica has noticed a change in her usual everyday habits. She's been getting up later and later as the days drift by because she's been having terrible trouble sleeping due to confusing, blurry nightmares waking her up in the middle of the night.

This meant she was extremely tired during the day and often found herself drifting to sleep if she was sat still for too long, which would be problematic for the usual student at Hogwarts but for Veronica it was even worse as she was almost always found in the Library during her spare time.

One particular evening near the end of January, Veronica jerks herself awake after a loud slam from the corridor echoes through the Library. She glanced around confused why it was so empty and dark but then it dawned on her after looking out the window at the moon that she must've fallen asleep that evening and Madame Pince had not seen her small figure hunched over the table.

Panic flooded her body at the idea of being caught outside after curfew and she hastily packed her things away before scurrying out of the room.

She was quick and nimble as she jogged down the corridor and, as she was not expecting anyone else to be awake at this time of night, she let out a loud shriek as another figure rounded the corner.

The person halted in their pursuit and turned to look at her, the moonlight giving her an advantage as she tried to make out their facial features. Not to her surprise, it was Harry Potter, who seemed to always be out wandering the corridors more at night than during the day.

However what did shock her was the fact that he was dripping wet and clutching the golden egg that he got during the previous task.

Harry stared at the Hufflepuff in front of him, her brown eyes widened in what looked like confusion as she scanned his soaked clothes hanging from his torso. She had strange faded indents in the side of her pale face, which made it seem as though she'd been resting her head on something for a while and her light brown hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head.

Her questioning gaze met his eyes again and Harry felt the need to defend his position. "The egg had to be opened underwater!" he exclaimed and felt relief to get it off of his chest, even though he was planning on letting others know first her silence implied an invitation to keep talking.

"I think the next task is mermaids, they are also underwater you see" He kept talking, and found it difficult to stop so basically told her all the information he had just received. Harry found Veronica easy to talk to and ended up spilling his concerns about the upcoming task to her as well.

Once he stopped to take a breath she sent him a soft smile and before he could carry on she walked up to him, her intrigued eyes kept looking between his face and the egg in his hands. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough, you should get some of your friends to help you as well," she said to him, and he found himself enchanted by the mysterious brunette.

And with a final "Good Luck," she walked away, continuing on her journey to her dormitory. Only after she left had Harry remembered that he still didn't know her name, nor anything about her and promised himself that if the opportunity arose again he would ask her.

 **oOo**

Veronica kept the information Harry told her a secret, knowing that had it been anyone else she knew they would've told all their friends as soon as possible. Of course, she was lacking in the friendship department and so even if she wanted to tell someone she wouldn't know who to go to.

One of the other reasons she didn't tell anyone was that she had a hard time believing that it had actually happened, part of her was sure it was merely a dream that Harry had properly spoken to her. Each time she thought about it her heart fluttered and a grin appeared on her face as she relived her conversation with the Boy Who Lived.

 **oOo**


	10. Chapter 9

oOo

Veronica kicked herself as she sprinted down the corridor the morning of February 24th, the day of the second task. She had overslept again and found the common room empty of life, the castle corridors in a similar fashion as she ran through them to get outside to the Hogwarts grounds.

Luckily she wasn't too late and hadn't missed anything important. By the time she got to the edge of the Black Lake, she managed to catch the final boats heading out to a wooden platform that had been set up in the center of the large body of water filled with the entire student body.

As her boat got edged closer to the platform, Dumbledore's voice called for everyone's attention. She panicked, thinking she wouldn't be able to get a seat of which she could see what was going on. She saw Ernie standing with a large group of Cedric supporters on the second level of the platform and tried to gesture to him and gain his attention but he was too invested in cheering for the Hufflepuff Champion.

Once she made it onto the platform, she just had to squeeze her way in between a few fourth-year Gryffindors near the front of the wooden deck, one of them she recognised as Neville Longbottom, the subject of Hannah's affections, who looked like he was about to throw up with nerves.

The boys next to her were quite loud, drawing loads of eyes to them as they screamed out Harry's name. Said Champion turned to face them and once he saw Neville's face gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before shoving some slimy green substance into his mouth, not noticing the small Hufflepuff standing right there.

Almost immediately after swallowing he began choking on it, even after the cannon went off to signal the start of the challenge and the other Champions had long since dived in, he was still standing there struggling to breathe.

This caught the attention of a few teachers standing close to him and Professor Moody leaned forward and shoved the boy into the lake, _quite aggressively,_ thought Veronica as her eyes were peeled to the water, as worry floods through her the longer time passes without catching a glimpse of Harry.

Her anxiety increases ten fold once Neville turns around, places his face in his hands and exclaims "I've killed Harry Potter!" and she stares at him in disbelief, her eyes widened terror-stricken.

The other Gryffindor boys didn't seem too bothered as one of them, a tall dark-skinned lad, points towards the water with everyone's eyes following it quickly after he gave out a happy cheer.

A wave of relief fills Veronica as Harry's body propels out of the water shouting "Yeah! WOO!", she spots his hands and feet are webbed before he is then back in the Lake, swimming out of eyesight.

oOo

For the rest of the hour, the students basically stood in place restlessly waiting for one of the Champions to complete the challenge and arise from the murky water and after Fleur returned empty-handed, people became more impatient.

The first one back was Cedric, and to everyone's surprise, had Cho Chang in his arms. As they took in deep breaths and swam to the edge Veronica put the pieces together and assumed that the 'treasures' hidden at the bottom of the Lake to collect were people. Which was quite morbid and she didn't want to think what would happen to those left down there.

Shortly after Cedric and Cho were lifted back onto the platform, Hermione appeared from the water and next to her was Krum, whose face was still transfiguring back from the head of a shark.

The stands were going wild as Cedric and Krum had by far the largest support from the crowd, but there were still a few people, like Veronica, who were staring into the water searching for Harry, the only Champion who had yet to return. As the bell sounded for the end of the given hour, the teachers also started to look concerned.

Veronica detects two figures floating to the surface of the Lake and once they break through the water her heart sunk to her gut with a feeling of dread when she observes that neither of them was Harry. One being Ron, who was obviously Harry's loved one, and the other a small blonde girl who bore a striking resemblance to the French Champion who was now leaning over the platform to reach her.

Finally, as Ron was being pulled from the Lake, Harry came flying from the water, wand in hand and he hit the deck with a thud. Out of reflex, Veronica grasped the hand of the nearest person, who just so happened to be Neville, and leaned on him in obvious relief for a few minutes before regaining her composure.

He shuffled in obvious discomfort, and when Veronica looked at him, she merely patted him on the shoulder and smiled awkwardly back.

The boys surrounding her all ran towards Harry, all trying to congratulate him after Dumbledore announced that he was given second place for saving two people instead of one. Veronica wasn't ready for the rampage and her small frame got swept away with them and by the time she regained control of her feet she was right next to the Champion.

Harry glanced at the girl in disbelief due to the fact she seemed to appear out of nowhere once again but smiled happily at her presence nonetheless. She gave him a shy smile back whispering her congratulations while holding his arm, slightly for support and slightly because she wanted to touch him.

Harry looked around and greeted all of the people surrounding him, slightly overwhelmed with all the attention and by the time he'd turned back to the Hufflepuff, she'd already taken off in search of Ernie, disappearing and somehow escaping from the Boy Who Lived again.

And that made him even more intrigued about this seemingly mysterious girl who keeps appearing in his life.

oOo


	11. Chapter 10

**oOo**

Veronica never usually bothered reading the magazine, Witch Weekly. She saw it as merely a gossip column that makes up the daftest of rumours in order to get people to carry on buying and reading it.

However, she couldn't help but be the slightest bit curious about it after she overheard people talking about the latest Rita Skeeter article, which just so happens to be written about students at Hogwarts along with an apparent 'love triangle' that could tear the Tournament apart.

She found herself waiting one day in the Great Hall until Hannah and Susan were done with their lunch and sneakily snatched their copy of Witch Weekly that had been left unattended after the girls left the table. Ernie gave her the strangest look, knowing that Veronica doesn't concern herself with tabloid gossip, but she ignored him and quickly took off, magazine in hand.

It was safe to say Veronica wasn't in the best of moods after reading the article. She was curled up in her dorm after class, with the magazine discarded to the floor, her mind wandering trying to figure out the truth.

Of course, there was a high possibility that what Rita Skeeter wrote about Hermione and Harry's relationship was not true, as Hermione went with Viktor to the ball and Harry wanted to invite Cho, but Veronica just wasn't close enough to the group of Gryffindors to know what was actually going on.

Her irrational mind was spinning, thinking back to all the times she thought she was having a moment with the Boy Who Lived, and how on numerous occasions he was on his way to Hermione, or how the muggleborn had angrily interrupted them at the Yule Ball.

She tried to shake these thoughts to the back of her mind, it was a struggle but she came to the conclusion that it was none of her business. These feelings that kept appearing when Harry was around confused her as she'd never felt butterflies around a boy her age before, and it scared her.

 **oOo**

Hogsmeade that weekend was quiet, and Veronica was once again resting on a small wooden bench on a narrow side road off of the main street. Except it felt different this time, as the peaceful and withdrawn path that usually comforted her actually just made her quite bored, her eyelids drooping every few minutes.

Ernie had gotten himself in trouble with McGonagall as he'd forgotten to do some homework and so Veronica couldn't even hang out with him this weekend. It was times like these that made her feel the most alone when she was surrounded by giggling teenagers in big groups and had no one to talk to herself. She envied the people who could just walk up to someone and make friends, knowing she could never do that - with the fear of being rejected or ignored too high of a risk.

Veronica heaved herself off of the bench with a deep exhale and started heading back to the castle early to take a well needed nap, as she was lacking in sleep and there was nothing else keeping her entertained nor awake in the small village.

As she climbed into one of the carriages she had unknowingly avoided bumping into the three Gryffindors who were following a large raggedy black dog into the forest and up into the mountains.

 **oOo**

Being placed in Hufflepuff could be seen as a blessing or a curse, as although they were sometimes taken for granted and ridiculed by the other houses, there were often small perks that others may not know about. One of these perks being access to the kitchens, which were hidden behind a large painting of fruits tucked away at the end of the corridor, where the Hufflepuff common room also happens to be located.

Of course, all students were technically forbidden from the kitchens, but Hufflepuffs could usually sneak away from their dorm at any time during the day or night and make it to the kitchens without being caught by roaming prefects, or Filch.

That's where Veronica was heading this evening, her stomach grumbling to her after she missed dinner from being too caught up in her homework and letting the time get away from her. She didn't mind visiting the kitchens as the house-elves were extremely kind and happy to help her get whatever she wanted.

However, this didn't seem to be the case as when she tickled the pear and twisted it once it'd turned into a doorknob, a screeching and sniffling echoed around the room.

She poked her head in and noticed a house elf that she'd never seen before, hunched over a stool by the fireplace, surrounded by empty bottles of butterbeer.

The elves in the kitchen were mostly ignoring the crying elf and once they noticed Veronica, started hurrying towards her with happy grins and she heard various greetings. This caught the attention of Harry, Hermione and Ron who were gathered next to the fireplace. The girl comforting the distressed elf and the boys conversing with Dobby, a friendly elf who Veronica had met previously.

"Miss Green!" exclaimed Dobby, who saw her after he followed the eyes of the wizards he was talking to. "Oh, hello Dobby, how have you been?" she responded politely, avoiding eye contact with the Golden Trio. Dobby then begins to excitedly show her the new socks Harry had just gifted him as the boy in question continues to stare at Veronica.

"Wow they're very nice Dobby! May I ask what's wrong?" she gestures to the drunk, sniffling elf which makes Hermione perk up interestedly and explain to the girl that Winky, the crying elf, has been freed from her master, Mr Crouch.

"Oh dear, how awful", Veronica says, looking at Winky with pitiful eyes as the elf started hysterically crying again after Hermione brought up the obviously still sour trigger.

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say as the bushy haired girl faced Veronica with fiery eyes as she exclaimed "No it's not! Winky is now free of repression and being forced to work unpaid hours shouldn't be allowed! House elves have feelings too!".

"B-But... House elves want to work like that, d-don't they? They're not being forced into a-anything." She responded, slightly scared by the passion in Hermione's voice.

Veronica looked at the other boys with confusion in her eyes, finally connecting with Harry and as they made eye contact she felt her heart flutter as butterflies appeared in her stomach as she remembered who she was with.

Ron dramatically turned and looked at Hermione with victory in his eyes, as if they'd had this conversation many times before, which Veronica didn't doubt by the frustration apparent in Hermione's eyes as she folded her arms and silently glared at the ginger, not saying anything in response.

During this whole exchanged, Harry had yet to take his eyes off of the Hufflepuff and she could sense it, so she gave him a polite smile before turning and leaving the room, not being able to face the awkward silence after Hermione gave her and Ron a dirty look, not feeling very hungry anymore.

"What's her name?" Harry questioned, breaking the silence, looking at his friends still glaring at each other. "Veronica Green, Hufflepuff. She's in my Arithmancy class" said Hermione.

The Golden Trio didn't stop to ponder what the girl was doing in the Kitchens and went back to their previous conversation about Crouch, before also retiring to their common room.

All the while, Harry couldn't get his mind off of Veronica Green.

 **oOo**


	12. Chapter 11

**oOo**

Luckily for Harry, he didn't have to wait too long before seeing Veronica Green again, as when he walked into Divination one morning, he saw her standing at Professor Trelawney's desk, listening bewildered while the crazy wide-eyed woman ramble on as if in response to a question.

Veronica had tried to get to Divination as early as possible as she wanted to ask her Professor about the reoccurring dreams that kept her up at night and plagued her thoughts during the day, but the Divination teacher had been talking for over ten minutes and she still hadn't gotten an answer.

As she saw out of the corner of her eye, the majority of the class start tumbling into the room, she interrupted Professor Trelawney, thanked her, and quickly walked to her seat at the back edge of the classroom, near the entrance, where she's always sat in order to leave as soon as the lesson was finished.

Once the lesson had started, Veronica had completely zoned out, her mind drifting back to the images that appeared in her sleep every night. They had been particularly confusing last night and were clearer than they'd ever been.

All she can remember is walking down a path, surrounded by hedges, often coming across dead ends or horrifying creatures that made her turn back the way she came. Flashes of red and green would fill her vision every now and then as her panic increased. She usually wakes up after a surge of blue light fills the scene, but last night she caught glimpses of what looked to be headstones and muddy dark grass before jolting awake in a pool of sweat gasping for breath.

Before she can delve into the many ideas floating around her brain as to what she could've seen, a commotion on the other side of the room draws her out of her thoughts.

Harry Potter was passed out, leaning off of his chair onto the floor clutching his forehead tightly while giving off short groans of pain.

Trelawney was having a field day standing over him almost buzzing with excitement as the boy opens his eyes, pouncing on him and demanding he let her help. Immediately he refuses, claiming all he needs to do is go and visit Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing.

The Professor wasn't buying it, neither was Veronica or anyone else it seems, but allowed him to go after ordering Veronica, who was conveniently the closest to the exit, to take him.

 **oOo**

They walked in silence at first, neither of them knowing what to say to the other, but surprisingly it was Veronica who spoke first.

"Are you okay?" she pathetically asked, even though clearly he wasn't if he claimed he needed to go to the Hospital Wing.

"Yeah I'm actually feeling a lot better now, I don't think I need to go anymore" he explained, with a good amount of confidence in his voice considering Veronica knew he was saying nonsense the entire time to get out of class.

Not ready to let him wander off, and the fact she didn't want to get into trouble for not doing what a professor told her to do, she grabbed his elbow and veered him down the corridor leading to the Hospital Wing, despite him trying to go in the opposite direction.

"Well, I still need to go and pick up some Sleeping Draught and we're almost there so we might as well keep going", she stated, walking towards the entrance and leaning her full weight on the heavy wooden doors to open them.

Madame Pomfrey looked up and upon seeing Harry standing there, turning a blind eye to the girl, exclaimed: "well why am I not surprised to see you here Mr Potter" and even though she sounded exasperated, she said it with a warm smile on her face after seeing he wasn't injured in any way.

"Actually ma'am," The woman finally noticing Veronica after she spoke up timidly "I'm here to pick up a light sleeping draught? I've been having the most restless nights recently". Madame Pomfrey scanned the young girl and saw her tired eyes looked heavy, with dark circles lining the bottoms - which Harry regarded as well.

"Oh alright then dear, you do look a little worse for wear", replied the mediwitch, doing a quick search of her cabinet and handing over a small vial, "do come back to see me if you still can't get to sleep and I'll give you a larger dose". Then she waves the two students away and tells them to get back to class.

As they start to make their way back to Divination, Harry studies Veronica then turns her earlier question for him back onto her, "are _you_ okay?", he questions, his concerned eyes gesturing to the vial clutched in her hands.

She follows his eyes to the sleeping-draught, where her gaze stays, as the sides of her mouth upturn softly, but her smile turns into a grimace as she truthfully replies "Nightmares".

They reach the ladder that leads up to the Divination classroom and she turns to face him "Thank you for walking me there and back. Although, I don't think Trelawney was expecting you to return" she informs him.

Harry glances up at the ladder in shock, as he wasn't expecting to return but found himself following Veronica anyway. "No, I won't go back in, I've got somewhere else to be anyway", he says but doesn't move until she nods at him and is safely up the ladder and in class.

He wistfully sighs, before remembering why he wanted to leave in the first place and took off to Dumbledore's office to inform him of the disturbing flashes he had of Voldemort in class earlier on, but with the Hufflepuff girl still on his mind.

 **oOo**


	13. Chapter 12

**oOo**

By the end of June, Veronica was on the heaviest dose of sleeping-draught that Madame Pomfrey was legally allowed to prescribe to a young teenage girl. The woman promised Veronica that she'd let Dumbledore know that they may need to contact St Mungos for external professional assistance, but that was a few weeks ago now and no action had been taken towards curing the poor girl.

She'd stopped taking the sleeping-draught all together as instead of allowing her to have a peaceful dreamless rest, all it did was send her deeper into her nightmares, making it harder for her to wake up.

It was early morning the day of the final task, and Veronica was wide awake even though the sun was barely risen, not an unusual occurrence anymore. Some days she'd be able to get back to sleep after laying awake and reading to tire her eyes but not today. A pounding in her skull lay just behind her eyes and made it extremely difficult for Veronica to perform even the most mundane tasks.

After laying down for a little longer and taking the last of the pain-relief serum Madame Pomfrey had requested for her, the throbbing had died down enough for Veronica to get out of bed, where she'd been curled up helplessly, and get ready for the day.

The dorm was empty of life, the other girls had woken up and gone down to breakfast, which was now almost over, during the time it'd taken Veronica to stop pitying herself and get up.

Veronica had breakfast, or brunch now, in the kitchens, her head still too sensitive to handle the rush and noise that was common in the Great Hall at the end of breakfast.

 **oOo**

The library was always crowded near the end of the year because many students would suddenly remember that final exams were fast approaching and so they would rush to the library in the final weeks of term hoping to cram as much information into their heads as possible.

Veronica was still happy to sit in there, however, as even though it was filled to the brim with students, they all remained relatively quiet as they cracked down on revising what they'd been taught that year.

As much as she had tried to study for the exams that they had sat throughout the week she knew that her efforts were severely impaired by the fact she hadn't got a decent nights sleep in months. The only exam that Veronica thinks she passed is Divination, mostly because the questions were heavily based on dream reading, and the intensive personal research she'd done had definitely helped her.

While Veronica is relaxing in the library, the calm atmosphere and the relief of finally finishing her exams lulled her into a false sense of security, and she drifted off to sleep.

She landed in the dark field surrounded by tombstones and graves, the familiar setting not surprising her as she visited almost every night. What was different about this dream, however, was that the typically empty graveyard was busy. Tall, dark people shadowed with capes and hoods stood in a circle, all facing the centre where a blurred pale man stood - Veronica squinted her eyes and tried to step forward but couldn't seem to move her legs.

The pale frightening character that seemed to be leading everyone else had a loud but muffled voice, and Veronica wasn't able to understand what he was saying. But she recognised the figure that they were all facing.

There, being held up by his neck against a tomb by a stone figure, was Harry Potter, choking and spluttering as he tried to escape. Alarmed, Veronica let out a scream and as she did so, all the figures in the dream turned towards her. However, at the same time, her scream jarred her awake.

As she took deep breaths to try and calm her down she looked around at the empty library and realised the third task was to begin at any moment. A voice inside told her to stop Harry from competing, as she had the worst impression that something incredibly bad was going to happen to him.

She would not let that happen.

 **oOo**

She was running like a mad woman through the throngs of people making their way into the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch, getting slightly impatient at how slow they were moving. She pushed and shoved her way through the crowds, and for the first time Veronica didn't care who gave her a dirty look - she had to get to the Champions, and to Harry, as soon as possible.

Finally, she got to the edge of the pitch and searched the front of the large glooming maze, which didn't do anything to lessen her fear as she identified the resemblance between the maze and the hedges from her nightmares.

After what seemed like hours, she noticed the gathering of people standing just left of the entrance to the maze - huddled in a group at Dumbledore gave them instructions.

Veronica marched over screaming louder than she's ever done before "HARRY!", repeating herself until the boy turned around and upon seeing it was her calling his name with tears running down her face, he ran over to her ignoring the rest of the group who were staring at the two in disbelief.

"Veronica, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked worryingly, scanning her body for any signs of injury or damage. She just shook her head, grabbing onto the front of his top and buried her face in it. Harry was so confused, he'd never seen her in such a state, but he still wrapped his arms around her and repeated his question.

She ignored him again and looked up at him hysterically, "please d-don't go in there, please". She tried to explain to him what was running through her mind but all she found herself saying was "please" over and over again, becoming more desperate as Harry didn't seem to understand what she was getting at.

A hand suddenly pulled her away, it was Professor Moody, who'd heard the girls pleads and quickly intervened, dragging her away forcefully. She was struggling to get out of his aggressive grip, still screaming for Harry long after they were out of earshot, and he continued on his journey to the Hospital Wing.

"Quiet you pathetic girl, no one can hear you" he demanded before throwing open the doors and shoving her inside, startling Madame Pomfrey who was just preparing to leave. At the sight of the sobbing girl, she dropped what she was doing and rushed towards her, telling Moody to place her on a bed.

Veronica was no longer paying attention as she cried to herself, still muttering the words she'd screamed in Harry's face. Moody ordered for the young girl to be left here, and under no circumstances let out.

He took off quickly, positive the task had already begun, and now he was behind schedule. All because of a stupid little girl.

Madame Pomfrey tried to settle the girl, giving her calming draughts and rubbing her back but nothing seemed to be working. Veronica was now laying on her back staring up at the plain white ceiling, she glanced at Pomfrey and said pleadingly "we have to stop him, please, everyone's in danger", but the woman had no idea what she was talking about - blaming the hysterics on the lack of sleep.

They continued this way for a good twenty minutes before Veronica let out the most ear-piercing scream, clutching her head as the images of Moody transforming into a different dark man, as well as Cedric's empty dead eyes flashed before her. Then she passed out from terror and exhaustion, barely breathing but stabilising slowly.

Madame Pomfrey didn't know what to do with the girl that now lay deadly quiet in front of her, dried tears tracked down her cheeks.

She didn't have time to look her over, however, as someone had burst through the doors of the Hospital Wing the second time this evening, saying she is required at the location of the maze, and telling her to get there as quickly as she could.

So she ran, leaving Veronica lying there alone and in pain.

 **oOo**


	14. Chapter 13

**oOo**

Over the next few days, Veronica stayed in the Hospital Wing under Madame Pomfrey's orders as she believed all the girl needed was some well-deserved rest in a peaceful environment. Little did she know at the time that the Hospital Wing was the least peaceful of places after the events that took place after the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

The first thing Veronica heard when she woke up the next morning, her body aching from the strenuous activity and mental stress placed on her yesterday, was the stern voice of Professor Dumbledore as he faced off with Cornelius Fudge - the Minister of Magic. She missed the beginning of the argument but it was something about Dementors and Barty Crouch.

Veronica was half convinced she was still asleep and was having another horrible dream listening to this conversation because she'd never heard Dumbledore so furious and she swore she heard him claim that He Who Must Not Be Named had returned.

Once the shouting had ceased, she sat up in bed, groaning in pain. This caught the attention of someone who was a few beds down. Harry had identified the girl as soon as he'd been brought into the Hospital Wing by Sirius and Dumbledore, and the moment he saw her he remembered her warning to him before he entered the maze.

He realised that there was more to the shy Hufflepuff girl than he'd first thought, and if he thought he was curious about her before, it had nothing compared to how he felt now.

The Boy Who Lived wasn't the only one to notice the girl was finally awake, Dumbledore had also seen her sit up and once she'd made eye contact with her Headmaster, she knew they were going to have to have a serious talk.

Dumbledore wanders over to Veronica's bed, a concerned glimmer in his old tired eyes as he spoke with an inquisitive tone "Good Morning, Miss Green. How are you feeling today?". Her answer was given after she narrowed her bloodshot eyes and let out a cough wincing at the soreness in the back of her throat.

Dumbledore nodded and carried on "Now, I've been informed that you had apparent foreknowledge of the events that took place last night, am I correct in that assumption, Miss Green?" all she offered back was a shrug as she wasn't completely sure what had happened and what hadn't.

"Ah yes, perhaps it would be best if I were to fill in the gaps for you. But first I need to know what it was that made you so panicked, yes?" the wise old man looked deep into her eyes, but couldn't seem to read her easily like he could with other students.

The eye contact was so intense that Veronica had to look away, and stared at her hands resting in her lap. She spoke quietly, her voice raspy and she muttered: "I had a dream that Harry was in danger.".

Everyone's eyes were on her as she described what she'd seen in her dream, and once she'd finished the silence was deadly. She peeped through the hair that was framing her face and looked directly at Harry, who returned her stare.

Veronica hadn't realised she'd started crying until her vision started blurring, and by that point, she was smothered by the ginger woman previously standing next to Harry's bed, who was now hugging her tightly and stroking her tangled brown hair.

The woman, who introduced herself as Mrs Weasley, had a nice calming motherly presence and managed to soothe Veronica, who was beginning to hyperventilate before she'd stepped in.

Harry watched silently, secretly wishing he could be the one wrapping his arms around her in comfort. He thought back to Veronica's actions the night before and hoped he never saw the girl in that much distress ever again.

The next hour was extremely difficult, as Dumbledore informed Veronica that what she saw wasn't just a dream, but reality and that loud, pale, snake-like man that she'd seen was Lord Voldemort. She cried once again after Cedric's death was brought to her attention but was stiff in shock when she learned that Professor Moody was actually an escaped Death Eater and he'd arranged the entire thing.

Dumbledore told her there was much more to divulge, but she wasn't ready as of yet and so her and Madame Pomfrey was asked to leave the room. They took this opportunity to clean Veronica and give her a calming draught and once she'd returned she fell asleep, not knowing that as she rested, the Order of Phoenix was being reinstated and that her life was going to change.

 **oOo**

Harry and Veronica spend the next few days in the Hospital Wing, sharing their grief over the death of Cedric and both taking comfort in the fact that they were not alone as they recovered from their respective traumatic experiences. Harry was glad he wasn't the only one who had seen Voldemort return, even if Veronica had only dreamt about the ordeal.

There are occasions when Ron and Hermione visit Harry in the Hospital Wing, but he doesn't fill them in immediately on why the Hufflepuff girl is there, despite the numerous questioning glances they give him.

They had told him privately, however, that people had seen Veronica's meltdown before the Third Task and there were some nasty rumours being spread about the girl regarding her mental health and sanity.

This angered the boy more than anything, even more than what people had begun saying about him since he'd come back shouting about Voldemort's return, which is why he kept an eye on Veronica throughout the End-of-Term feast, especially once Cedric's memorial was mentioned as he knew how fragile the girl still was.

He was so worried about Veronica that he barely batted an eyelid at those around him who stared at him once Dumbledore mentioned what happened in the graveyard, informing the school of Voldemort's return.

 **oOo**

On the Hogwarts Express, Veronica was honoured to have been asked to sit with the Golden Trio but felt that she was intruding slightly on the friends' limited time together and so politely declined the offer and, after bidding Harry farewell, went to find a compartment of her own.

As the train pulled into the station, Veronica sighed blissfully, happy that her fourth year at Hogwarts was over and she could finally rest back in the comfort of her own home and hoped next year would go a lot smoother.

 **oOo**


	15. Chapter 14

Summer Part 1

oOo

Veronica didn't know what to do with herself now that she was back home. Dumbledore had written to her parents to give them a vague understanding of her dreams and warning them that there may be occasions where they need to give their daughter a powerful sleeping draught.

She was now under the constant watchful eye of her parents, which was probably made worse after she refused to give them details on her dreams and what had happened at the end of the school year that made her so paranoid.

On the bright side, however, in the second week of the summer, Veronica had started receiving letters from Harry Potter and the girl was now is regular correspondence with the Gryffindor. They spoke about anything and everything - avoiding serious topics most days and conversing like regular teenagers, as even if it wasn't the case, it made them feel normal for once.

They learned a lot about each other through these letters and it would've been easy for Veronica to fall envious of Harry's social life as all shes ever wanted is friends that were willing to sacrifice everything for her and welcome her into their home.

Apart from Harry, Veronica had exchanged letters with Ernie a few times as well, and she'd come to realise that the boy was in full support of everything Harry had to say about He Who Must Not Be Named. Cedric's death had hit Ernie quite hard as he was always someone the boy had looked up to and so Ernie believed it was respectful to trust what Harry said had happened that night.

He was overjoyed to hear Veronica believed Harry and so she decided once they were back at Hogwarts she would let him know about what had happened to her the night of the Third Task. The Hufflepuff boy then went on to offer Veronica to sit with him and Hannah on the Hogwarts Express once term time started up again.

Veronica finally felt like everything was heading in the right direction, and she had multiple more friends than she did last year. She found herself eagerly waiting to go back to school, unlike all the previous years where she'd dread it for months.

oOo

One night at the beginning of August, Veronica was laying in bed tossing and turning unable to get to sleep. This was one of the first times since summer's begun that shes had trouble sleeping, all the restless nights during her fourth year had tired her out.

There was a slight hum of pain that seemed to follow her thoughts around in her head, feeling like something was trying to push through but her conscious mind stopping it from doing so. Veronica leaned over her bed and reached for the tonic tucked in her nightstand drawer. The familiar taste of sleeping draught took over her senses and she leant back with her eyes drooping, as she was pulled under into a blissful sleep.

Throughout the night, her dreams were constantly interrupted by flashes of hooded creatures speeding down an empty tunnel, but as soon as she'd face them the image would abruptly end leaving her in a confused but dreamless sleep.

She was ultimately woken up from her sleep by the front door slamming shut. She could hear her dad slowly making his way up the stairs and opened her door to peek out at him. His tired eyes connected with her as she took him in, shoulders slouched and his hair messed up as if he'd run his hands through it for a while.

"You're only just getting home?" she questioned after seeing him dressed in the same dress shirt and trousers he was in yesterday. She didn't actually know what her dad did for a living, all she knew was that he worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries. Veronica and her mother weren't even allowed to know his job title.

"Yeah sorry if I woke you, meetings overran," he simply said, stumbling into his bedroom and shutting the door.

Johnathan Green was stressed. Anyone could see that. His hair has grown longer as he hasn't had time to cut it and the shadow of stubble around his face suggests that his life recently has been taking a toll on him. Veronica noticed the small things - the fact she'd never seen a grey hair on her dad until this summer, and how even on days when he's not working, he'll disappear for a little while - claiming that there was a work emergency.

She was curious, of course, she wanted to know what it was that's making her father so run down and distressed. Little did she know she was going to get her answer very soon.

oOo

Despite the horrible ways the Daily Prophet have been discrediting Dumbledore, and the standing joke that was her new friend Harry Potter, Veronica still read the wizarding newspaper. During the summer she finds herself distanced from the Wizarding World in a way, as her parents rarely talk about things such as work, headlines or breaking news. Sometimes, if she'd read a particularly nasty fictitious article, she would think to herself that the subscription was a waste of time but she didn't cancel her subscription just in case.

Veronica refused to believe that Harry was as dangerous as they made him out to be, she didn't think he would ever purposely hurt a fly. Also considering she'd hypothetically watched He Who Must Not Be Named rise from the dead, it would be foolish of her to then deny the inevitable like the Ministry wanted people to believe.

One morning, Veronica got a letter in the post from Harry, but it wasn't his usual long-winded report on how his week had been and him asking her about hers, oh no. It was a crumpled piece of parchment with hastily written scrawl on it stating that the boy had just received news that he was to be expelled from Hogwarts!

She was shell-shocked, definitely not expecting this to occur. Obviously, Veronica wrote back to him in distress, demanding he tells her everything that had happened and why he'd been expelled. Thinking back to the dream she'd had, Veronica thought it was too much of a coincidence for these events to have occurred without being related, which scared her because those cloaked figures didn't look too friendly.

She never received a reply.

Her family owl came back a day later, without the original letter, meaning he received her call for answers and decided not to respond. She felt a pang in her heart as she realised the boy was purposely ignoring her letter and thought that perhaps she'd been too forward. Maybe she and Harry were not as close as she'd begun to think they were and he thought it was none of her business. That image upset her because for once, Veronica thought she'd made a friend who trusted her as much as she trusted him.

While she was moping in her room a couple of days later, her father walked in, and he appeared to be in quite a rush.

"As your mother is not here this weekend, I've been put in charge of looking after you. Come with me, I have a meeting to attend but I'm sure you'll be happy to see a few familiar faces" He explained whilst putting on his jacket and picking up his belongings.

Veronica didn't ask many questions as she prepared to leave as well even though she had many running through her mind, trusting her dad wouldn't leave her in an unsafe environment if he were to take her anywhere.

They apparated onto a dark empty street with tall looming houses that looked like they once cost a fortune. Her dad stopped her from gazing round in astonishment by handing her a slip of paper.

 _The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place._

She read over it a few times, confused by what it was saying. As she looked up to ask her father about the information written on the paper, she noticed the houses in front of them were parting. The brickwork separating from each other as what appeared to be another house identical to the ones around it came out of the gap. No one else seemed to notice what was going on, except Veronica who was staring in bewilderment.

Johnathan rushed his daughter inside the magical house, and quickly directed her up the stairs and told her to go into one of the rooms on the right, before telling her he'd be back soon. With a stern look on his face, he swiftly walked into a room on the ground floor and purposely shut the door behind him.

oOo


	16. Chapter 15

Summer Part 2

oOo

She sat with Hermione and Ron quietly. After their initial polite greeting, they found themselves sitting around awkwardly, so Veronica soon asked them if they knew what was going on and Hermione filled her in on what they knew about the Order of the Phoenix and why they were just waiting around.

The Hufflepuff was happy to find out that the adults downstairs, including her father, were expected to return any minute now with Harry in tow. The two members of the Golden Trio that were present noticed how the girl's face lit up with the mention of their partner in crime, but didn't bring it up as the door had suddenly slammed open and the boy on their minds stood in the doorway.

Veronica only caught a glimpse of his face before Hermione had pounced on him, swallowing him up into a solid embrace, her hair flying everywhere burying the two. The timid brunette felt something uneasy settle in her stomach as she watched them hug but they quickly pulled apart and Hermione and Ron try to comfort an angry Harry, who felt abandoned and excluded.

The boy finally noticed Veronica as she rested her hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down, his voice getting louder as he told off his best friends. Harry perked up as he made eye contact with the girl "Veronica! Hel-", before they could properly speak to each other the Weasley Twins had apparated with a 'pop' gaining the room's attention.

The ginger twins were very charismatic and managed to turn an awkwardly tense reunion between friends into a friendly entertaining conversation. Even though she wasn't fully involved in the chat, she found herself sitting back and contently listening to the group of Gryffindors.

The youngest of the Weasley siblings strolled into the room as the twins were showing off their latest invention - Extendable Ears - to inform them that they were unable to use them as, apparently, an imperturbable charm had been placed on the Kitchen door.

Soon enough they were called down for dinner, and as they were walking down the stairs Harry wandered next to Veronica before nudging her gently with his elbow. He leant in and his eyes playfully glistened "Hey there", he whispered. "Hello, Harry. You still need to tell me the details of why the Ministry wants to expel you. You never wrote back." The hurt look on her face made him feel terrible and so he apologised and told her about the Dementors in Little Whinging.

She had to admit she was impressed that Harry knew how to perform a Patronus charm, she couldn't imagine ever doing magic that powerful herself. She told him this and noticed his ears turn red in embarrassment, which thoroughly amused her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shouting echoing around the house, and Veronica noticed it came from a portrait of a miserable looking woman cursing strongly to the people in the room. A man came out of the kitchen and started screaming back at her, before forcefully shutting the curtains around her frame.

He turned around and smiled at the group as they reached the bottom of the staircase. Harry ran towards the man with a big grin on his face, but Veronica froze in fear as she watched the boy embrace the person she now recognised as mass murderer Sirius Black.

Harry turned around to introduce the girl to the many people in the room when he noticed that she'd gone completely pale - not taking her eyes off of the Azkaban escapee. So he walked up to her, rubbing her arm gently, "Veronica, this is my Godfather Sirius, he's not who you think he is, honestly. He was framed. " he whispered in her ear. She stared into Harry's eyes and gripped his elbow tightly in her hand, slowly moving to stand next to him as he leads her into the room, not once did they break eye contact.

The adults in the room didn't fail to notice how close the two teenagers seemed to be as they sat down next to each other at the long table in the middle of the large kitchen. Mrs Weasley was more than happy to see the girl again and greeted her with a warm smile from across the room.

Veronica was introduced to many people that night and was surprised when she realised how nice Sirius actually was, as he spoke to the girl for a few minutes to introduce himself and apologise for scaring her earlier.

The conversations around the table soon became quite dark as Harry asked questions about He Who Must Not Be Named, but Harry wasn't scared to use his real name which made Veronica flinch quite a bit. After a quick argument, Mrs Weasley reluctantly allows the children to stay and listen to Sirius, except for Ginny who stormed away angrily slamming the door on the way out.

She won't lie, Veronica got chills as she focused on what the Order believed was happening. The image of an army being built up to fight terrified her, but looking around at the determined faces of the people at the table, especially her fathers, she realised she needed to find the courage to help them. Shortly after Sirius mentioned a 'weapon' the discussion was ended by Mrs Weasley who sent the children to bed.

"Yes it's probably best if we head off home now Veronica," her father says, standing up and shaking a few people's hands in farewell.

"You're going!?" Harry exclaimed, a bit too loudly and he blushed once he realised his shout gained a few looks. "I guess so, see you soon?" she replied, looking up into his mesmerising green eyes. "Definitely" he stated before taking her by surprise and wrapping his arms around her waist, "see you soon" he repeated.

Sirius was openly staring at them now, and once Veronica made eye contact with him he winked at her before nodding his goodbyes. Flushing a bright red she turned and left the house, not looking back even though she could feel Harry's eyes on her as she followed her father.

oOo

Veronica didn't return to Grimmauld Place after her first visit, however, she and Harry continued to exchange letters for the rest of the summer, him informing her of his trial and other random adventures that took place around the house.

She had become a running tease in the old Black Family House, as many of the teens, and Sirius, continuously asked Harry about the girl - the boy blushing every time her name was mentioned.

oOo


	17. Chapter 16

oOo

Summer was over and for the first time, Veronica was actually quite excited to be going back to Hogwarts. She woke up early the morning of September 1st, buzzing from anticipation. As her and her parents got to Kings Cross Station and crossed through the barrier onto Platform 9 and 3/4 Veronica saw Ernie preparing to step onto the train, Hannah close behind him.

She said goodbye to her parents quickly, before rushing off to catch up with the two friends. Ernie turned and saw Veronica coming after she called out his name, "Veronica hey, you'll never guess what" he starts off, his eyes wide and a smile growing on his face. Simultaneously, he and Hannah pull out prefect badges from their pockets as if they'd practised it just now.

"Oh wow, congratulations guys!" Veronica says, immensely proud of her Hufflepuff companions for being chosen as Hogwarts prefects. However, she was slightly disappointed to find out that it meant they had to spend their train journey to Hogwarts in the prefects' compartment discussing their future tasks and doing rounds of the train.

They soon left Veronica and took off wondering who else was chosen as a Prefect and what they would have to do over the next year. She watched them go before turning to find a compartment for herself, like she's done every year before, but on her way around the train she bumps into Ginny, and another girl with white blonde hair and whimsical eyes called Luna and they invite her to sit with them.

Veronica was pleasantly surprised to find Harry in their compartment, but once they started talking he quickly informed her that he was in a similar situation as Ron and Hermione had both been selected as Prefects. Neville also came to sit with them and soon enough they were on their way to Hogwarts.

oOo

The journey was interesting, to say the least.

Neville had decided to bring along some plant he got for his birthday called mimbulus mimbletonia and while Harry was asking about it, the Longbottom boy thought it'd be a good idea to demonstrate it's defence mechanisms and prodded the surface. The plant then proceeded to cover the entire compartment and the people inside with a sticky green substance called Stinksap that was one of the worst smells Veronica had ever experienced.

The door to their compartment opened before they had the chance to react and once Veronica wiped her eyes she noticed Cho Chang stood in the doorway, looking around at them in shock. "Oh sorry Harry, bad time?" she said looking at the boy wiping his eyes, that were protected by his glasses, before shutting the door and moving along.

This made Veronica feel slightly suspicious of the Ravenclaw and her eyes were narrowed through the whole interaction, luckily no one noticed due to them being preoccupied with the gunk in their faces.

They soon got cleaned up after a quick scourgify before Ron and Hermione turned up to tell them how the meeting went. The two teens not surprised to find Veronica seated next to Harry, sharing a look but didn't say anything in front of the Hufflepuff, instead they warned Harry about the newly appointed Slytherin Prefects.

As if he heard his name being mentioned, Draco Malfoy swaggered into their compartment followed by his fellow Slytherin cronies. Veronica usually stayed far away from the Slytherins, avoiding confrontation, but it was a little harder to do when stuck in an enclosed space. She shrunk down slightly as Malfoy poked fun at the boy next to her, throwing a few choice words at him and then leaving after sending Harry a threatening warning.

oOo

It was sad to leave the group after they reached Hogwarts, as Veronica found herself really enjoying her time around them. The carriage ride up to the castle was filled with discussion over the apparent winged creatures pulling the carriage as Luna informs them they can only be seen by people who've seen death. Even though the conversation was dark, Veronica found it thrilling to be learning so much about the magical world surrounded by friends.

Of course, she has Ernie and Hannah to chat to, so she happily wandered over and sat with them just before the feast began. She was in the middle of asking them about the meeting, even if she'd heard the same information from Ron and Hermione when Dumbledore stood up and the Hall soon went silent.

Veronica listened to Dumbledore address the students and introduce new members of staff, including a sickly sweet woman dressed head to toe in pink called Professor Umbridge, who was their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

A small 'hem hem' echoed around the Hall, interrupting Dumbledore mid-speech. Everyone was quiet as Umbridge trotted forward, her chunky heels sounding dramatically loud against the wooden floor.

She began a longwinded speech that bored Veronica as soon as the woman had opened her mouth, and she found it easy to tune out the high pitched frequency and forced politeness that this so-called 'professor' was feeding to them. She glanced across to the Gryffindor table and made eye contact with Harry, shaking her head in obvious confusion and he sent her the same look back.

After what felt like forever, Umbridge sat down and they finally began eating following a rather quiet applause from few people, most of the students staring at her with blank expressions.

But Veronica didn't take her eyes off of the pink lady for a few more minutes, getting a bad feeling in the back of her mind as she stared at the faux wide smile on the woman's face that failed to reach her eyes which would haunt the girl's dreams for a few nights.

She knew that the annoyingly fake DADA teacher would stir trouble for her friends, and was not looking forward to it in the slightest.

oOo


	18. Chapter 17

**oOo**

The first day of classes is always hectic for any year, but for fifth and seventh years, it is filled with panic, distress and anxiety.

Veronica didn't want to be reminded of the OWL exams that all fifth years will be sitting at the end of the year. In fact, she was the type of girl that didn't like to think about the future too much, having no idea what she wanted to do, it scared her quite a bit. However, it was hard to avoid as every teacher seemed to want to remind them of what was to come.

Unfortunately, once admitting this to Ernie at lunch, she was reminded of the career sessions they would be having with their heads of houses throughout the year to be advised on what NEWT subjects to pick in order to direct them towards their goals. Hannah arrived with Susan eventually and they began to discuss excitedly their many hopes and dreams.

All this talk of the future is what made Veronica leave the Hufflepuff table and sit with the Golden Trio, who she'd noticed walk in earlier.

They were filling her in on the arguments that occurred the night before with the other boys in their dorm, who were reluctant to believe Harry and Dumbledore's outlandish claims about You-Know-Who when they were interrupted once again by Cho Chang.

The Ravenclaw had come over with obvious intentions of talking to Harry, and so while Veronica was in mid-reply to his tale of last night, she bounced over greeting the boy loudly. Veronica paused with a slightly irritated look on her face as she slowly rotated her head to look at the girl, who'd attracted the attention of all four of them.

The Hufflepuff hated to admit she felt a small ounce of satisfaction when Ron called Cho out on her Chudley Cannons badge resting on her robes, and he was being quite rude about it. Usually, she would feel sorry for such a target but as she watched her walk away she felt amusement bubbled up in her.

 **oOo**

Professor Umbridge was a nightmare of a teacher who was determined to believe that the students only needed to be taught theoretical knowledge, even though there was a practical exam to be held at the end of the year.

Veronica sat through DADA without a clue what was going on, sitting in silence and reading was normally something she enjoyed, but with the watchful eyes from the woman at the front constantly staring at them and the condescending way the book was written, she just couldn't do it.

Word quickly got around the school about Harry's outburst in his class with Umbridge and many people snickered as they heard of his detentions. Veronica heard multiple times throughout dinner that Harry deserved it for acting out and shouting lies, and it annoyed her to no end. She just couldn't wrap her head around why people would not believe Harry when the poor boy had witnessed his close friend murdered last year.

Veronica wouldn't let the bad feeling she got from their Defense teacher go and was worried about what the woman would do to Harry during his detention and so decided to warn Harry to be careful.

She waited in the Great Hall until the Trio had finished eating and got up from their seats before she began to chase after them. Veronica called out to them and, recognising the voice straight away, Harry turned to greet her.

"I heard about your detentions with Umbridge, Harry" she started off and he sent her a disapproving look in return, not wanted to be reminded of it anymore. Still, she carried on ignoring his expression " I just wanted to tell you to be careful. I don't like the woman at all, she gives me the creeps, and I thought you should know I get a really awful feeling every time I see her" she rambled, giving him a pointed look.

He grinned, happy that she felt so worried about him and reassured her that it'll be fine. "I've had detention many times Veronica, you don't have to worry about me," he told her, rubbing her arm soothingly.

However, Hermione must've been feeling the same as Veronica as she stepped in, letting Harry know she believes the Minister has sent Umbridge as a spy and a step out of line would result in something terrible for him or even Dumbledore. Those words didn't comfort Veronica in any way, making her watch Harry, eyes widened in horror.

He noticed her expression and just like he did at Grimmauld Place, pulled her into an embrace, making her forget why she was so panicked for a second. "I promise I'll be careful Veronica, thank you for the warning" he murmured gently into her ear.

She stood in place as she watched the Golden trio disappear up the staircase leading to their common room, still feeling slightly bothered by his nonchalant attitude, but let it go and stumbled to bed.

As she tucked herself under the covers, she thought back to how it felt to have his warm arms wrapped around her and smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

 **oOo**

Despite Harry informing Veronica that nothing bad had happened during his first detention with Umbridge, the girl still asked him every morning after each session. The boy was adamant that all she was making him do was write lines, however, she had the sneakiest suspicion that he wasn't telling the whole truth.

This suspicion was confirmed while she was asleep the last night of Harry's detentions that week, as she had a dream of Harry writing lines in the very pink office of Professor Umbridge but once he' moved his hand she'd noticed a bright red liquid oozing out of his left hand, which she realised was blood after a moment of shock.

She'd woken up early the next morning, and hurriedly got dressed, determined to find Harry to figure out the truth.

Veronica had wandered all over the castle early that morning, and in the end, resorted to asking Ron where the boy was, and with one glance at the fire in her eyes told her Harry was probably in the Owlery as he was writing a letter late last night.

She stormed up the stairs and entered the room with vigour, only to be suddenly halted at the sight of Harry and Cho awkwardly hovering next to each other as the caretaker Filch storms past her. Their eyes followed the squib and noticed the girl standing in the doorway.

Quickly remembering why she was there she locked eyes with the Gryffindor and boldly claimed "There you are Harry. I need to speak with you." Her eyes drifted to Cho, "Alone." No one moved. "Now?" she was slowly losing confidence and said that last statement with a questioning tone.

But it worked, Cho saying goodbye and leaving the two alone. Veronica marched up to him and before he understood what she was doing, grabbed his left hand lifting up to her face.

The sore red marks spelling out the words 'I must not tell lies' told her all she needed to know as she glanced up at his face, a solemn look in her eyes. He tried to yank his hand out of hers but she kept a firm grip on it.

"Why didn't you tell me straight away Harry" she whispered, all anger gone from her stance as tears started to well in her eyes. "I'm sorry Veronica, I just didn't want you to worry" he stared back an apologetic look on his face as he stopped resisting her touch.

'Of course, I'm going to worry Harry. I care about you and don't want to see you hurt," the two were standing only a few inches apart now, their fingers lacing together from where she hadn't let go. "You're my friend," she continued nervously since she'd never openly addressed someone as her friend before.

Harry smiled softly back at her, swinging their hands as he responded "Thank you, Veronica. You're my friend too, now let's go get some breakfast." As he went to walk away she tugged him back into place.

"Promise you won't keep something like this from me again" she directed, forcing eye contact. "I promise", and with a final squeeze of hands before letting go, they wandered down to the Great Hall.

 **oOo**


	19. Chapter 18

**oOo**

The news came early Monday morning, splashed across the front page of the Daily Prophet, which arrived promptly at breakfast. Dolores Umbridge had been given the new title of High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. Veronica thought back to when Hermione suggested the woman was here as a spy and this only confirmed the muggle-born's view.

It was clear that no one really knew what the role of High Inquisitor was and Veronica was almost completely sure it had been made up but the Minister to give the ghastly woman more power over the running of the school.

Almost as soon as the news was announced, Umbridge was seen in almost all classes that day, sitting in the room taking notes and evaluating every teacher at Hogwarts on if they're fit to teach. This sickened Veronica as she thought to herself ' _what does Umbridge know about good teaching?'_ but never said it out loud as the image of the cuts on Harry's left hand remained in her mind.

 **oOo**

After classes had ended one day that week, Veronica had decided to go and see Professor Trelawney, to try and get some answers as to why she was having such vivid dreams, and why they seemed to be coming true. As lovely as Madame Pomfrey is, there's only so much medicine can do and instead of masking the pain forever, Veronica wants to embrace the truth and get to the bottom of her dreams.

Professor Trelawney is almost always found in her classroom, the only time she joins the rest of the teachers in the Great Hall is if there's a feast for a special occasion. So that's where Veronica was sat one afternoon waiting for Trelawney to notice her.

"Oh! My dear, when did you arrive", said the Professor in her usual mystical voice. "Just now," she replied, but instead of asking more questions, Trelawney just nodded, humming to herself. Veronica pushed harder; "Professor, I was wondering if you had time to answer some questions I had?"

"Yes, yes of course" replied the teacher, eyes still glazed over only half paying attention.

"The dreams I've been having for the past year now, have been... happening in real life? I was wondering if you had any ide-" she was cut off by Professor Trelawney gripping the girl's shoulder tightly in one hand, and holding her hand out to Veronica.

Seeing she was slightly confused, the Divination teacher impatiently gestured for Veronica to place her hand into the woman's own. Once she did so, it was quickly turned palm facing the ceiling and Trelawney started to stroke her fingers along the palm of the young teen. As soon as she'd started, she dropped the hand, as if it had burned her and the woman cried out in agony.

"Professor, what is it? What's wrong?" the girl stood up jogging over to her teacher who was now gripping the desk and sobbing. Veronica felt sorry for the poor woman, knowing whatever it was, she had caused it. She reached out to soothe her, but as she reached for Trelawney the woman flinched away from her.

"Tainted magic, bad aura. How didn't I see this before" the professor mumbled to herself, Veronica only caught a few of the words being said, but none of them sounded pleasant.

"Please Professor, let me help you" she exclaimed desperately trying again to touch her back gently but this time was shoved away.

"Don't you see young one! There is no help! He is back! The eye is corrupted!" the teacher screams into her face, bringing the Hufflepuff to near tears. Never had she seen Trelawney so troubled and she didn't know how to handle it so stood there for a few moments in shell shock.

When the woman noticed she was still there she shooed her away screaming "Go! Leave!" and Veronica didn't wait any longer to sprint out of the room, and down the ladder away from the tower.

Shaken from the events that just occurred Veronica went back to her dorm and laid in bed the rest of the day, skipping dinner to sob into her pillow as all of her emotions caught up to her. No matter how hard she tried to understand the words that were screamed into her face earlier, she didn't know what to take from it.

Not knowing who else to turn to that could help her, Veronica decided to keep the confrontation to herself, as if word got out about what had happened it would inevitably lead to unfavourable consequences.

 **oOo**

As the days went by, Trelawney avoided Veronica like the plague. In lessons, she wouldn't walk to the side of the room Veronica was sitting in and would never even look in that direction. No one suspected anything, however, because Trelawney was known for her odd behaviour.

Veronica was sat with the Golden Trio for lunch after a particularly rough Divination lesson, and Hermione turned to Veronica and asked her "How would you feel about learning how to perform the Defense spells outside of class?".

It was slightly unusual for Hermione to come out with a random question specifically for Veronica but the girl won't lie, she was interested. So she aired her opinion, stating that it would be nice to learn how to perform those spells so that come exam season she wouldn't be panicking too much.

That seemed to be the correct answer as Hermione nodded smugly at her then sent Harry a pointed look. "Exactly, I told Harry he should be the one to teach us but he's having doubts" the bushy-haired girl explained.

Excitedly, Veronica turns to Harry and grasps his arm "Why?! I think that's an amazing idea. You're so good at defence Harry, I bet you could teach us better than Umbridge" she proclaimed, making the boy flush slightly.

As both the girls stared at Harry with hopeful expressions on their face, he sighs deeply, looking at Veronica once more before reluctantly mumbling "Fine, I'll do it".

 **oOo**


	20. Chapter 19

**oOo**

Veronica marched into Hogsmeade with the Golden Trio that weekend on a mission. Her and Hermione had passed the message along to a few trusted people they knew would be interested in this plan and arranged to meet at the Hog's Head.

The Hog's Head was a rundown pub on the edge of the village that Veronica never knew existed, but Hermione thought it would be the best place to meet and discuss these lessons as it would be out of the way of potential eavesdroppers. This made sense once they walked in because there was only a couple of people loitering around and none of them looked particularly interested in the teenagers settling around one of the many tables.

"Who did you say you invited Hermione?" questioned Harry, the boy looking quite nervous as he glances towards the door. "Oh, just a couple of people who were interested" she replied, sharing a look with Veronica as the Hufflepuff knew that a lot more than a couple of people were going to show up.

Harry's reaction when people began to stream through the front door was quite funny to Veronica, but nothing compared with the look on the old bartender's face who probably has never had this man people in his pub at once before.

She greeted Ernie and Hannah, who she'd told knowing they were also fed up with Umbridge's teaching methods, but following behind them was Zacharias Smith, who she didn't invite. It was rare for Veronica to admit she didn't like someone, but there was something off with her fellow Hufflepuff. Maybe it was to do with his selfish attitude and the way he treated the people he saw lesser than him, including Veronica.

Once everyone was in and settled down with a butterbeer each, they turned to face the table the Golden Trio and Veronica were sitting at and silence filled the air as they waited for someone to say something.

Hermione then stands up to greet everyone and to remind them why they turned up today. As expected there were a few snide remarks from Zacharias, and it didn't take long for the subject of Cedric Diggory to be brought up once Hermione explains defence training would be beneficial to fighting You-Know-Who.

Certain people seemed to be very interested in hearing Harry's side of how Cedric really dies, which sparked anger in the boy and he stood up frustratedly to announce that he was not there to talk about Cedric, but to teach defensive magic and if that's what people were expecting they could leave right now.

Veronica could see people were still slightly sceptical about Harry teaching them and she wasn't the only one to notice.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" questions Luna, looking up at Harry with an innocent look in her eyes. This struck up a conversation of all the impressive things that Harry had done throughout his years at Hogwarts; such as battling Quirrell and You-Know-Who in his first year, the Basilisk in the second year, the dementors and let's not forget winning the Triwizard Tournament.

Zacharias quickly shut up after that, especially once the Weasley Twins started flaunting some dangerous looking metal rod they picked up from Zonkos before coming to the meeting.

Harry was flustered at the positive attention from his peers, and Veronica was astounded at hearing these achievements, some she hadn't even been aware of. Sure, Harry had told her about what had happened in previous years but he always downplayed his role in the adventures, so to see him for who he really was - a hero - made Veronica feel bubbly and proud of the boy standing next to her.

They collectively voted Harry to be the leader and were in the midst of coming up with a name for their group when Cho suggested the Defense Association, DA for short. It was catchy but seemed to be missing a rebellious spark, though once Ginny had altered the DA to stand for Dumbledore's Army it was unanimously accepted.

The meeting ended with them writing their names on a piece of parchment under the large words 'Dumbledore's Army' and disbanding after Harry announced he would get in touch after they found a place to practice.

 **oOo**

Veronica had left with Ernie and Hannah shortly after congratulating the Trio on a successful first meeting and while they were strolling through Hogsmeade Hannah nudged Veronica with a teasing smile on her face. "So when were you going to tell us you fancied Harry?" she suggested playfully.

The girl flushed bright red as she looked between her two friends, who were staring at her waiting for a reply. "W-what? I don't know what you're talking about" she stutters, avoiding eye contact with both of them staring at the snow covered ground.

Ernie bursts out laughing and said "Oh come on Ronnie, it's obvious", Hannah joined in, "the way you were looking at him the entire time back there" she gestures her hands back towards the Hogs Head.

The brunette had never thought about her feelings for Harry, always assuming they were close friends, but she thinks back to the butterflies and smiles and it suddenly hits her. That's why she was always so irritated when Cho spoke to Harry, or even when the rumour went around last year about Hermione playing with the boy.

Her wide eyes gazed at her friends standing before her and they witnessed her moment of realization as Veronica becomes aware of her feelings before then mumbling in disbelief "Merlin. I fancy Harry Potter!".

Hannah squealed excitedly and pulled a smiling Veronica into a hug, jumping up and down then quickly letting go. "You two would be the most adorable couple" she yelled, attracting the attention of a few people around them.

"Hannah shut up", Ernie nudged her looking around to see if anyone was listening closely before leaning in "Imagine if someone had heard you talking about him". The thought of Harry finding out made the small smile fall of Veronica's face, she could already imagine the embarrassment that would occur if word got out. She knew Harry had feelings for Cho and although she didn't particularly want them together, she didn't want to put herself through the pain of rejection.

So she wandered back to the castle following Ernie and Hannah, as she processes the thoughts running through her mind. She's never had a crush before because boys usually noticed her and so she never bothered noticing boys until Harry came along.

Her cheeks stayed in their blushing state the rest on the evening, Veronica finding herself unable to get the messy-haired, emerald-eyed boy off of her mind.

 **oOo**


	21. Chapter 20

**oOo**

Conveniently, the Monday after the Hogsmeade trip, Umbridge had written and put into place what she likes to call "Educational Decrees" and this particular one banned the formation of student organisations and all clubs had to get permission from her in order to reform and carry on.

Of course, many of the members of the DA were concerned with the introduction of the new decree, but Harry reassured them that they would carry on with the idea, telling them all to not go over to him all the time as it would cause suspicions from Umbridge. This quickly turned their recreational group which was made up of a few students practising ministry-approved defence spells, into an illegal club going behind the teachers - and the Ministry's - back.

This was a risk that frightened Veronica just a bit, but she felt the DA was far more important, not only to pass her exams in the summer but to learn how to defend herself and that was something she was passionate about.

 **oOo**

Veronica had been avoiding Harry since the realisation of her feelings for him, completely unintentionally. Every time she saw him and he spoke to her, she would find herself getting lost in his eyes, and was worried she was constantly smiling dreamily up at him. To stop this from occurring she thought the best idea would be to just stop looking at him.

However, Harry had noticed that the girl hadn't been speaking to him as often as she would usually do, it wasn't hard to see as she would continue to occasionally sit, and hang out with, the Trio, but would address Hermione and Ron if she spoke up. He wanted to ask her what was wrong but couldn't find the words to say it nor the correct time to bring it up.

The time arrived when she accompanied Harry to Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was the substitute Care of Magical Creatures Professor while Hagrid was away. Veronica was disgusted when Harry told her of how Hedwig returned after delivering a letter injured and immediately offered to take the poor animal to be looked at by an expert.

Harry glanced over at the girl, who was stroking and cooing at the white owl just before handing her over to Grubbly-Plank. Hedwig seemed to like her as much as Harry did, as the owl had been happily perched on Veronica's wrist the whole walk, closing her eyes occasionally when the girl's fingers gently ran through her feathers.

As they were walking back, he placed a hand on her elbow and lead her over to the edge of a corridor, so they weren't in the way if anyone were to go past. She looked at him in concern, wondering why he randomly pulled her to the side.

"Is everything okay, Veronica?" Harry said after a few moments of silence, but after seeing the confusion in her face he rephrased his question, "why have you been avoiding talking to me?".

Veronica's eyes widened at the question, blushing slightly as she realised what he was hinting at. However, instead of telling him the truth and facing eternal embarrassment she decided to play dumb.

"What do you mean, I'm talking to you right now" she smiles, covering her discomfort with a small amused smile.

Except he didn't buy it. "Come on Veronica I know something's wrong," he pushed but she carried on staring at him with a blank look on her face. "Are you having nightmares again?" he guesses, the idea being the first thing he thought of when pondering why she was acting so strangely.

She jumped at the mention of the nightmares and took this opportunity to tell him about what had happened when she asked Trelawney about them. "Wow, so this is why you've been acting so weird?" Harry challenged, feeling slightly suspicious but, noticing the angst in her eyes when she nodded in reply, knew she wasn't lying.

"Well, you could've told me sooner, I would've even helped you ask her," he informed her, happy that he now knew what was wrong, or so he thought.

"Yeah, I know that now, thank you Harry" she smiles relieved that she'd gotten away with it and happy she did it without technically lying to the boy.

After promising Harry she'd tell him before doing something like that again, he leaned in to give her a hug - sensing the helplessness she'd been feeling about the whole situation.

Veronica welcomed the hug more gingerly at first but then sunk into his embrace, loving the warm feeling she got when his arms were around her. They stood with their arms wrapped around each other for a few minutes, neither one of them wanting it to end, but eventually, Harry slowly pulled away from her, reaching down to entwine their hands as they wandered back to the Great Hall.

 **oOo**

The next time Veronica sees the Golden Trio is during their first DA meeting. Dobby had told Harry about a secret room on the seventh floor, that only appeared when the individual thought of it, called the Room of Requirement.

When Veronica walked in that evening, she was immediately astounded by how perfect the place was for practising defensive spells. With dummies on one end of the room and a few fully stocked bookshelves on the other with a large empty space in the middle, it was if it was made for them.

This was confirmed by Ernie, who she had entered with followed by Hannah and Zacharias, who told her the Room of Requirement turned itself into whatever the individual desired at the time of the request.

Harry soon addressed the group once they'd all turned up and he decided they should start simple, with the Disarming Charm. He quickly shut down Zacharias' complaints about the easy spell by claiming it had saved him last year whilst duelling You-Know-Who, making Veronica smile at him proudly.

Soon after they started practising, it was clear that the spell wasn't as easy as first thought, with multiple people failing to perform it correctly. Veronica had no issues with the spell luckily, and so with a quick affirming nod towards her, Harry swiftly moved along to help others, mainly Neville.

The first meeting was a blast, full of laughter and jokes as people disarmed each other and seemingly ended too quickly much to the chagrin of the students. Harry promised they'd meet again soon and Hermione handed out fake galleons that would have the date of the meetings on them once decided.

People started filtering out of the room, stopping occasionally to say goodbye to Harry and praise the meeting. Soon it was just the Trio and Veronica who stood by the door.

"Hermione you continue to amaze me with your skills" Veronica compliments, holding up the coin as she referenced the charm the Gryffindor placed on it. The bushy-haired girl blushed and replied "thank you, Veronica, see you soon," and she gave her a quick hug.

The Hufflepuff looked at Harry and smiled at him "Good teaching today, by the way, you have incredible patience with some of the people here", grinning playfully at him which he returned. "It's not like you needed me here anyway, looked like you had it all under control," Harry said, in reference to Veronica's ease with the disarming charm earlier.

Ron interrupted the two with a teasing smirk "Okay you two its curfew, stop flirting you'll see each other tomorrow". This made Veronica flush and so she bid them goodnight, then jogged out of the room, not making eye contact with a blushing Harry, who was watching her leave.

He turned to face a snickering Ron and punched him in the arm, before the Trio went to their dorm, a content smile on each of their faces.

 **oOo**


	22. Chapter 21

**oOo**

The DA continued to meet quite regularly, practising charms such as the Impediment Jinx, the Stunning Spell and the Reductor Curse. Veronica was pleased with her execution of the charms and sailed through quite smoothly, needing little to no help from Harry.

This couldn't be said for some of the others in the DA who struggled quite a lot with certain spells, and Veronica even stood in to help a few of them if Harry was busy with someone else.

She had noticed Cho pretending to fail at many of the tasks set to them so that Harry could go over and talk to her directly, much to the annoyance of Veronica. The Ravenclaw made it quite obvious with what she was doing, as she was barely trying the spells herself before immediately calling the boy over with a pathetic pout on her face.

Quite a few times Veronica has had to put her wand away and take deep breaths before she gave in to the urge to perform the spells on Cho instead of the dummies provided. Not that she saw much difference between the two options anyway. She would plaster a fake smile on her face and try to ignore the two, avoiding looking in their direction until the end of the meeting.

 **oOo**

The news that Hagrid had returned reach the Trio the night after the first Quidditch game of the season.

For once, Veronica had decided to accompany her housemates to watch the match, trying to convince herself this had nothing to do with the fact that it was Gryffindor playing. Nevertheless, she found that she couldn't take her eyes off of the seeker for the whole game, barely paying attention to the score until the end.

She had cheered loudly once Harry had caught the snitch, ending the game and proclaiming Gryffindor as victorious. On her way down the stands to congratulate the boys, she had noticed a commotion on the pitch.

Harry, along with Fred and George had pounced on Malfoy and were wildly throwing punches towards the blonde boy. Even though she'd tried to make it down there to calm the boy and stop the fight before anyone saw, McGonagall and Umbridge quickly got involved resulting in the boys being dragged off to the latter's office.

They were in there for a while, and the next time Veronica saw Harry was when he came stomping into the Great Hall during dinner with a large scowl on his face. She abandoned her meal at the Hufflepuff table and ran over to the Trio to quickly find out Harry had his broom taken away from him and been given a lifetime ban from Quidditch.

As much as she'd tried to comfort the boy and offer her condolences, nothing had made him brighten up until they'd heard that Hagrid was back. The Trio had rushed through dinner and ran down to Hagrid's cabin, but before they left Harry had excitedly grabbed Veronica's wrist and dragged her along after him.

Hagrid was quite confused at Veronica's presence and was unwilling to tell them anything in front of her but after she informed him her dad was part of the Order, he relaxed and began his story.

Turns out, Dumbledore had sent Hagrid, along with Madame Maxime, the Headmaster of Beauxbatons, to visit the giants and try to recruit them to the Order. Unfortunately, a couple of Death Eaters were also there so, consequently, Hagrid and Maxime were unable to convince the giants in their favour and were chased out of the mountains.

This was big and worrying news, as it gave them evidence that You-Know-Who was gathering troops, and succeeding. The story of Hagrid's unsuccessful mission had astounded Veronica, but the conversation around her had quickly moved on to the dreadful changes being made at Hogwarts.

She nodded along after Hermione had warned Hagrid about Umbridge's inspections because even if she didn't take Care of Magical Creatures, she had heard about all of the ghastly creatures Hagrid would bring to class. Umbridge would jump at the chance to fire Hagrid, as her dislike for half-breeds was very well known, and Veronica didn't want to see a key Order member and just an all round nice guy, be kicked out of Hogwarts.

Hagrid told Hermione that she had no need to worry about him, he already had the next lessons all planned out and he was positive that it would be a safe and interesting time for the students.

 **oOo**

Veronica had been informed by the Trio after Hagrid's class a few days later that the inspection hadn't gone very well. Apparently, Umbridge has purposely pretended she couldn't understand the half-giants thick drawl before interviewing the Slytherins and written a bias evaluation because of this.

She had to admit that the lesson on Thestrals did sound particularly interesting, however, because only a handful of people could actually see them, as they can only be seen by witnesses of death, it seemed to be quite redundant for the rest of the students in that class.

The Trio were worried about Hagrid's evaluation, knowing it was not going to end well and Veronica found herself pitying the man. He was a genuinely good guy and she could tell he was just very enthusiastic about magical creatures, never wanting to harm anyone and always there to support them.

That's why it angered her so much that Umbridge felt the need to 'cleanse' Hogwarts of people like him, as there's nothing wrong with his slightly orthodox ways of teaching. Umbridge was crossing a line, and Veronica had the feeling that it wasn't going to end well for the chunky pink woman.

 **oOo**


	23. Chapter 22

**oOo**

December rolled around quite quickly and Veronica wasn't expecting to dread it as much as she was. As she stood in the last DA meeting before Christmas break, she happily looked around at the people she'd grown close to and realised she didn't want to leave.

The bond that she'd developed with not only the Trio but most of the members of the DA warmed her heart and made her wonder why she had gone 5 years at Hogwarts before striking up a conversation with any of them.

As the meeting wrapped up, people began to embrace those around them, wishing them a Merry Christmas and a see you soon. Veronica was in the middle of a farewell with a couple of people that she'd helped with spells over the course of the last month when Hannah tapped her on the shoulder and told her she was going back to the common room.

Veronica wrapped up her goodbyes and reached the exit where the Golden Trio were standing and she stopped to take in the Room of Requirement one last time before the break. The festive spirit was obvious around the room as she remembered their joint efforts in decorating the room, with Christmas trees and festive hangings all the way around the room.

She turned to the Trio, and Hermione immediately hugged the girl, wishing her a Merry Christmas as she did the same back. Veronica and Ron also shared a quick embrace, the ginger had taken a shine to her and they'd developed close to a sibling bond, even though he certainly didn't need any more of them.

Finally, she reached Harry, who was already standing there with his arms open wide, watching her with a warm expression on his face and a happy smile. She stepped into his arms and rejoiced silently in her head when he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into her shoulder.

She would never grow tired of hugging Harry, his welcoming embrace constantly sent shivers down her spine and butterflies in her stomach. They pulled away after whispering their farewells. They stared into each other's eyes for a little while, taking in the other's face as they knew it'd be the last time they'd talk for a while.

Reluctantly she stepped past him, meeting up with Hannah and Ernie, the former wiggling her eyebrows at the girl playfully after witnessing the whole interaction between Veronica and Harry. They took off towards their dorms to finish packing and prepare to leave.

 **oOo**

While everyone else was in their common rooms celebrating the end of the term, Veronica found herself walking back up the stairs to the seventh floor as she'd forgotten her jumper in the Room of Requirement earlier on that day.

She didn't expect anyone to still be up there, as it had been a little while since the DA had disbanded for the holidays. However, as she opened the doors that had magically reappeared on the wall and walked in she froze midstep at the scene in front of her.

There were Harry and Cho, lips locked together in a heated embrace but had broken apart at the sudden noise of the door slamming shut.

Veronica didn't know what to feel. Her heart was shattering inside her body and her feet seemed forever planted into the ground. She couldn't take her eyes off of the couple, even after they'd separated the image of them kissing was scorched into her mind.

Idiotically, Veronica had thought her and Harry were getting somewhere. Hannah and Ernie had told her on multiple occasions that it was obvious the boy had similar feelings towards her as she did for him. The hope that had been bubbling up inside her was crushed and she felt her body caving in on itself.

After what had seemed like an eternity, Harry had stepped forward towards her and called her name, "Veronica?". This snapped her out of whatever depressive slump she was slowly falling into and her wild watering eyes only made contact with the boys for a second before she was sprinting out of the room, the jumper had been long forgotten.

She ran down the stairs to the Hufflepuff common room, the tears she was desperately holding back in the Room of Requirement were streaming down her cheeks and she stumbled into the room.

Ernie and Hannah had noticed the girl straight away, but she didn't stop to acknowledge them as she took off to her dormitory and buried herself into her sheets.

Hannah had chased after the girl and was now sitting on the side of the bed, rubbing Veronica's back as she sobbed into the pillow. She didn't know what was wrong as she'd never seen the girl in such a state. The blonde felt anger running through her veins as she couldn't believe someone had made this innocent and caring girl cry her eyes out.

Once Veronica had stopped hysterically crying and was now laying there numb, hiccupping occasionally, Hannah asked her what had happened. Veronica shook her head and mumbled into the sheets, but her friend had made out the words "Harry and Cho" and didn't need to hear any more.

Veronica eventually drifted off to sleep, tucked under Hannah's arm, as the girl had taken to crawling into her bed and stroking her hair.

 **oOo**

The corridor was dark and gloomy, the only light in the room was coming from the pale white orbs that layered the shelves around her. Veronica had never been here before but found herself walking in a direction as if she knew exactly where to go.

Up ahead, she could just about make out a figure of a middle-aged man pacing the rows slowly with his wand lit up in front of him.

Suddenly, he had collapsed onto the ground crying out in pain. Veronica's slow walk had turned into a sprint as she ran towards the man to help him and see what had caused his fall. He cried out again and she witnessed a terrifyingly large snake lunge forward and bite the man again.

Panic surged through her as once she reached him, she realised who he was. The Weasley's jolly patriarch that she'd last seen sitting at the large table in Grimmauld Place looked vastly different now as tears and blood ran down his face. This was the first time Veronica had seen him without a smile on his face and she screamed in despair at the poor man lying in front of her.

"Veronica please wake up!" she heard Hannah's voice before being shaken awake, and away from the bloody injured fellow. The second her eyes opened, she looked straight at Professor Sprout who was standing over her, the girls in her dorm huddled behind her.

"Dumbledore," she said. "I need to see Dumbledore, now" she panted, out of breath from the obvious screaming that had occurred.

With little hesitation, her Head of House had wrapped the girl in a blanket to stop the shivers and rushed her out of the dorm, ordering the girls to stay here and go back to sleep.

However, once they'd entered the Headmasters office, they were shocked to find Harry, McGonagall and the entire Weasley clan staring back at them. Dumbledore understood what had happened straight away and after thanking Professor Sprout and sending her away, guided Veronica to sit down on a chair near his desk.

There she had found out Harry had had a similar dream to her, with Mr Weasley being attacked by a snake in the mysterious room she'd seen. All the while, she could feel Harry's eyes on her but refused to make eye contact, the events of today still too fresh in her mind.

After confirmation from one of the portraits on the wall, the students were flooed to Grimmauld Place where Sirius was waiting for them. They sat around for hours, hoping to hear some news. The tension was high in the room as they barely spoke a word to each other.

Finally, Mrs Weasley had entered the room, the early morning light showing her tired eyes and messy hair, informing them that Arthur was stable and in St Mungo's, but most importantly, alive.

Shortly after that, they had settled down for breakfast, but Veronica wasn't hungry and so Sirius directed her towards a spare room and she passed out from emotional and physical exhaustion.

 **oOo**


	24. Chapter 23

**oOo**

Veronica's parents had agreed it was best if Veronica stayed at Grimmauld Place over Christmas, after going through such a traumatic experience, they believed it would be best if she was in the comfort of the friends she'd spoke so dearly about in the past few letters she'd sent home.

Of course, they didn't know about her feelings for Harry, or how she would've now loved to spend a few weeks away from him and get the image of his tongue down Cho's throat out of her mind. Unfortunately, every time she sees him, which is quite often, she is reminded of the fact that the boy she fancies, who she was told fancied her back, clearly wasn't interested.

Harry had told Ron and Hermione what had happened, and the aftermath after Veronica had run away, this included Cho crying her eyes out for Cedric as well as for Veronica. The Trio noticed how Veronica was much quieter than she'd been before, sinking back into the shell that they'd originally got her out of.

They weren't the only ones who noticed, however, and Sirius took it upon himself to ask his Godson about what had happened. He'd been watching Harry's hopeful eyes light up when the Hufflepuff walked into the room, but slump and watch her with a sad expression every time she ignored him.

Sirius had shared Hermione's view on the matter. That Harry was an idiot for kissing someone else, especially if he had feelings for another girl. The boy admitted that he was confused. Cho was the girl he'd admired for so long but now that he finally has a shot - Veronica has caught his eye and made him feel very conflicted.

No one seemed to have much advice for Harry, despite him asking what he should do over and over again. Hermione told him to give the girl space, so over the holidays he would just watch her from afar and resist the urge to go over and beg for forgiveness.

 **oOo**

Christmas arrived slowly and painfully and Veronica had bought the Trio small presents as thanks for befriending her so easily but pondered over if she should really give Harry his gift. She decided eventually that he technically had done nothing wrong, and the present was for her friend Harry, nothing else.

As they handed out the presents, she shuffled over to the Trio and silently handed over their presents, much to their surprise as she had said very little to them over the last few weeks. Hermione smiled at the girl before giving her a present back, which turned out to be a nice leather bound diary.

The girls hugged and wished each other a Merry Christmas while the boys sat there awkwardly, Ron sticking by the miserable Harry's side in support.

Once Veronica had walked back to her seat in the far corner of the room, they opened their gifts from her and found she'd bought them all a nicely wrapped Christmas set of Honeydukes chocolates with a novelty 'Little Book of Defense'. This made them all smile affectionately at the thought of their new close friend.

 **oOo**

Later on that day, the whole house had taken a trip to St Mungo's to visit Mr Weasley, who although was recovering quite well, had drawn out the healing process by trying muggle methods such as 'stitches' which failed miserably.

While they were there, they bumped into fellow student and DA member Neville, who was visiting his mother and father in the permanent ward of the hospital. While there, they noticed their old DADA teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart was also a resident of the ward after his memory was badly affected by a backfired curse which the Trio had previously informed Veronica of.

Mrs Weasley wanted to talk to her husband alone and so after everyone had seen and spoken to him for a little while she sent them out of the room. Fred and George saw this as a perfect opportunity to eavesdrop and pulled out their extendable ears.

Everyone listened in, hoping to get further explanations for what is going on that the adults were reluctant to tell them. Unfortunately, they happened to overhear what seemed to be Tonks, Moody and Mr and Mrs Weasley having a conversation about how You-Know-Who is seeing inside Harry's mind and vice versa, which explains how Harry saw what he did.

This brings a sort of silence to the crowd of children sitting outside the ward as they ponder what they just heard.

The boy himself's thoughts are going into overdrive. Is Voldemort possessing him? Can he be trusted around his friends and the Order if that's the case?

Veronica does feel pity towards the boy and wishes she could comfort him and tell him that it doesn't matter. After all, she had the same vision just from a different perspective so it can't be that crazy. However, Ginny gets there first, letting Harry know that he isn't being possessed, as she knows exactly what that feels like.

Eventually, the group heads back to Grimmauld Place their moods dampened slightly at the news they'd just received. Veronica still wanted to ask Harry if he was okay, but once they got back he went to his room and didn't come out the rest of the evening and so she thought it'd be best to leave it.

 **oOo**

With the holidays almost over, Veronica was ready to get back to Hogwarts. Christmas at Grimmauld Place was alright but she found it shrouded with sadness despite the forced appearance of joy on peoples faces.

Snape had visited them a few days after Christmas to inform Harry that Dumbledore has decided he should teach the boy Occlumency - a type of magic to stop people from getting inside your mind.

Of course, while he was here there were arguments between the adults, especially Sirius and Snape, which almost ended in a fight until people came to stop it.

Veronica was fed up of all the drama and so when the day came for them to return she celebrated a little in her head. She couldn't wait to curl up in the Hufflepuff Common Room away from the Trio for a little while, and missed her other friends as well. She'd taken off quite suddenly in the middle of the night and hadn't spoken to Hannah since.

They took the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade and then quickly entered the grounds of Hogwarts and Veronica almost instantaneously took off towards her dorm, the Trio watched her leave without saying goodbye and Harry grumpily followed behind his friends to the common room.

 **oOo**


	25. Chapter 24

**oOo**

As the days went by, Veronica was slowly coming to terms with the fact that Harry had kissed another girl. She realised that she was never his girlfriend and so didn't have the right to be angry at him, nor sad that it had happened.

Also, after witnessing the awful mood that Harry has been in since Christmas that was only made worse due to his regular private Occlumency lessons with Snape, she believed that all that Harry needed right now was a friend. So that's what she'll be.

One morning, Veronica was sitting with the Trio in the Great Hall quietly discussing with them how they were going to get more students to believe Harry. Hermione had suggested doing an interview but Veronica reminded her that no paper would publish it, and would probably twist Harry's words to make him seem worse than he already does.

This gave Hermione an idea and before they knew it she had taken off, running out of the Great Hall with a sparkle in her eye. Veronica didn't know where the girl was going, but whatever it was she knew it would be a brilliant idea.

 **oOo**

The news broke later on that month that there was a mass Azkaban breakout. This was something that the Ministry couldn't hide from the public, but instead of mentioning why ten highly dangerous Death Eaters had managed to escape they decided to blame Sirius Black.

Veronica was only slightly taken aback by the news because she'd had a dream the night before, which included the sounds of chilling laughter, and the image of broken brick walls surrounded by Dementors.

The thing that she was taken aback by was the fact that this breakout had done little to nothing to the opinions of the students against Harry, who still firmly believed in the Daily Prophet and the Ministry, even though a mass breakout happened right under their noses.

This was what sparked Veronica to go and ask Hermione about her 'genius' plan to get Harry an interview with a paper and publish it without facing the backlash from the Ministry or the people who supported it.

She had to admit that she was sceptical when Hermione mentioned Rita Skeeter, the memories of everything that ghastly woman had written last year that ruined so much flooding into Veronica's mind. After addressing her concerns to Hermione, the Gryffindor had assured her that she had something over Skeeter that meant the woman would do whatever Hermione told her to do.

 **oOo**

They had planned to meet with Skeeter the next Hogsmeade trip in mid-afternoon, giving Veronica a little time beforehand to wander the village with Ernie and Hannah. She had apologised to Hannah for her abrupt and messy absence just before Christmas but the girl had quickly forgiven her, telling her that she understood completely even though Veronica knew she could never fully understand.

As they were perusing the shops, buying things occasionally, Ernie had noticed something while looking into the window of Madame Puddifoots, a very pink and bright cafe for loved-up couples to visit that was quite busy considering it was Valentine's day.

He tapped Hannah on the shoulder discreetly and tried to subtly gesture towards what he'd seen and she quickly discovered what had him so freaked out.

There, sitting in a small booth drinking tea and eating small confectionaries was Harry Potter and opposite him was Cho Chang.

They didn't know what to do as they saw how much Veronica was affected the last time she saw the couple together. The two Hufflepuffs had tried their hardest to divert their friend's attention away from the diner but she caught on to what they were doing and glanced back behind her, ignoring their warnings.

Once she saw the two sitting there, she'd gone slightly numb. She wasn't completely shocked that she'd seen them together again as you don't usually kiss someone and not date them. If anything the view just confirmed it officially for the girl that she had lost Harry, and Cho had got to him.

Her irrational mind was so caught up in these slightly angsty thoughts that she didn't pay close attention to the couple and had missed the awkward exchange of conversations happening between Harry and Cho inside.

Cho had started crying again and Harry was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat, as he had been since entering the overly pink cafe, it having too close of a resemblance to Umbridge's office for his liking.

Before they were seen by either of the two inside, Ernie and Hannah decided to drag Veronica away from the window. If they had stayed for a little longer they would've seen Cho snap at Harry jealously as he informs her he would have to cut their date short to meet with Veronica and Hermione.

Cho seemed angry as she quizzed Harry on his relationship with Veronica and once she'd noticed the happier look in his eyes when he talked about the Hufflepuff, she stormed out of the tea shop, leaving him to sit there puzzled.

 **oOo**

Harry had arrived at the Three Broomsticks alone, thankfully thought Veronica as she sat with Hermione, Luna and Rita Skeeter. It was quite an odd combination of people, but the interview went quite successfully, Skeeter only trailing off topic a few times, trying to get gossip from the boy.

The interview was published in The Quibbler a few days later, a less popular magazine run by Luna's father, but was an immediate triumph for Harry.

Umbridge had tried to ban the Quibbler at Hogwarts, claiming anyone seen reading it would receive a harsh punishment, but this only fuelled everyone's curiosity. By the end of the day, everyone had read the article and it had lightened their view on Harry significantly. Luna had even informed them that it was the best-selling edition of the tabloid ever sold.

Harry received praise from everyone around the school, even the teachers had been indirectly rewarding him house points in class for doing simple tasks, and he had even started to receive fan mail from outside of Hogwarts that suggested people were starting to believe what he had to say.

Everyone was pleased, except for Umbridge who quickly stripped Harry of his rights to visit Hogsmeade and gave him another week of detentions. Veronica didn't think Harry minded much though, as he had finally managed to get the truth out and now people were taking the boy seriously.

 **oOo**


	26. Chapter 25

**oOo**

They rode on a wave of happiness for a little while, the winning feeling of beating Umbridge almost made Veronica and the Trio forget about the war they were facing against the Ministry.

Of course, the feeling didn't last forever, as more and more Educational Decree's were announced, giving Umbridge more power over Hogwarts than ever before.

One example of this power was demonstrated in early spring, and in the middle of the day Veronica was walking through the entrance hall and noticed a huge crowd of students gathered near the doorway to the courtyard. So she pushed her way through a couple of people to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was so interesting, but her view was still blocked due to her tiny frame.

She was suddenly dragged by her elbow towards almost the very front of the crowd of students and saw it was just Harry who had noticed her struggling on tiptoes, and so he placed her right in front of him and rested his hands comfortably on her shoulders as they watched.

Trelawney was stood hunched in the middle of the courtyard sobbing and crying, luggage and bags sprawled around her haphazardly. Once Veronica caught sight of the pink she-devil standing there with a smug grin on her face, she felt a certain rage, that she reserved just for Umbridge, rise up.

"What does she think she's doing!" Veronica angrily muttered loudly to Harry, and a few people around them heard and nodded along with her rage. Harry bent down slightly and placed his face into her hair, his lips right next to her ear and replies "she's trying to kick her out of Hogwarts".

Veronica was frozen at first, the feeling of his warm breath hitting her ear and neck sending shivers up her spine. Harry didn't move from that position at first, despite having nothing else to say and she wasn't complaining.

Trelawney's stuttering broke her out of her trance and her anger quickly returned, toning her thoughts and awareness of Harry's presence down somewhat.

"She can't do that can she?!" she exclaimed, and apparently Trelawney asked the same thing, as Umbridge had held up a sheet of parchment with a new Decree written on it basically claiming that she could do what she wanted.

Veronica was almost shaking with anger at this point and imagined storming over there and ripping up that document held in Umbridge's chunky fingers. She just wanted this to stop.

Luckily, the students on the other side of the courtyard were shuffling out of the way and Professor McGonagall jogged over towards Trelawney, stopping next to the sobbing woman, placing a hand round her shoulders in comfort.

The Transfiguration teacher and DADA teacher threw comments at each other for a few minutes, the students around them on edge as they knew how angry both of them could get, waiting for an outburst of insults or a fight to emerge. Veronica knew if this were to happen that McGonagall was much more advanced in duelling and could easily win.

Before that happened, much to most people's disappointment, the doors from the entrance hall swung open and Dumbledore strode outside with a determined look on his face. Apparently, he had found a loophole in the new Decree and even though Trelawney had lost her job, she was still allowed to stay at Hogwarts.

The woman started crying heavily once he said that, but this time in relief and as McGonagall escorted her back inside, she stopped at Dumbledore's side thanking him profusely, her eyes lit up in gratitude. Veronica wanted to give the woman a hug, her body had also sagged against Harry's in relief as despite the confrontation she shared with her Divination Professor before, she would never want to see her gone, or for Umbridge to get her way.

Harry and Veronica watched as the conversation continued between Umbridge and Dumbledore, pleased as the pink-clad lady's smug smile fell from her face. Dumbledore had found another teacher for Divination already, throwing out the Ministry's clear plan of sending someone else.

They were even happier, and intrigued when they found their new Divination teacher was a centaur called Firenze - Harry told her his name as well as the fact that he'd met the centaur before. Umbridge was now completely frowning in disgust as she realised a non-human breed will be teaching at Hogwarts.

The students quickly dispersed once all the teachers had left the courtyard, and Harry had suddenly let go of Veronica to chase after the Headmaster, forgetting to say goodbye.

She watched him leave, his quick departure from behind her making her feel cold, his warmth from his arms and hands wrapped around her had left with him.

 **oOo**

As it turns out, Firenze was quite good at Divination, this is probably because centaurs are known for their seeing abilities and navigating their lives around the stars.

Their first lesson with him was quite refreshing, as he had a classroom on the ground floor and it had been transformed into an open piece of land surrounded by trees, with fresh green grass spread across the ground. Compared to Trelawney's stuffy and overheated classroom stuck in the top of the tower, it was relaxing and it seemed Veronica wasn't the only one to think so as she had overheard many people compliment their new Divination teacher.

Harry had learnt that Firenze had been excluded from his colony of centaurs shortly after agreeing to work at Hogwarts. Apparently, centaurs saw working for humans as a betrayal of their kind. With Hagrid and Dumbledore's help, he had escaped from the colony that lived deep in the Forbidden Forest and now resided in the castle.

Veronica felt sorry for the centaur, as she knew what it felt like to be excluded from others in the first few years of her life at Hogwarts. She also decided that perhaps Firenze could be the one to give her answers about her dreams and so shortly after their lesson one day she stayed behind, Harry joining her due to their last conversation about her meeting with Trelawney.

Firenze saw the two students standing there and with a knowing look in his eyes, wandered towards them, warmly greeting them, "Hello Harry Potter, Veronica Green how may I help you?".

"Sir, I was just wondering if you could give me some information about dreams I've had in the past", Veronica began telling him about what had happened during the Triwizard Tournament as well as the few events of this year but was interrupted before she could finish.

Firenze was chuckling lightly, "Oh young one, you worry too much". She sent him a questioning look and he continued "the seeing eye can be more complex than anyone could understand, even a seer such as Sybill Trelawney" he was referencing the Professor's previous outburst which Veronica had told him about.

"What do I do to stop them, sir?" she asked, but this made the amused look die down in his eyes as he made more serious eye contact with her. "You should never force the eye away. Embrace the gift, it'll help you become stronger. If you ignore the forces within, the outcome will be disastrous".

This made her gulp nervously as Harry shuffled his feet next to her, standing a little closer than he was before. "B-But Professor Trelawney said I was tainted - that the eye was... corrupted?" she stuttered.

"The eye works in many ways, some pleasant, others not so much. If you are seeing things, it is because you were supposed to. Not all magic will be welcoming to those that don't understand it. Don't let that cloud your own eye." He spoke with an air of expertise, making Veronica trust his words as she nodded along.

"You must be going now, Veronica Green and Harry Potter. I have to see Dumbledore" he ended their conversation, sending them away. They looked at each other while leaving, having a conversation with their eyes.

"Oh and Veronica Green?" She turned back around. "The eye is a gift not many possess, nor control. You should feel proud of that accomplishment," she smiled cautiously in response and left the room heading towards the Great Hall, Harry in tow.

 **oOo**


	27. Chapter 26

**oOo**

For the past couple of DA sessions, Harry had been trying to teach them about the Patronus Charm following numerous requests that he tell them how to perform it.

Most of the DA had now begun to cast non-corporeal Patronuses - this is where the charm will let off a dusty white sheen, but it hasn't formed the body of an animal. Now they were just practising the charm, trying to think of stronger memories to trigger their corporeal Patronus.

Veronica wasn't really sure what she should be thinking about. Sure, she had happy memories but none of them strikes her as the 'happiest' memory. She glanced around at the others around her, as different animals began to sprout from some of their wands, making her feel self-conscious as she could still barely perform a non-corporeal Patronus.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she takes a deep breath and tried again. "Expecto Patronum!" she projects the words, but to her disappointment, when she opens her eyes there was barely a mist appearing from the end of her wand. This was Veronica's fifth attempt and she was getting nowhere, no matter how hard she tried.

Noticing the girl struggling with the charm and her annoyed appearance, Harry decided to go over to assist her. Veronica sees him walking over to her and sheepishly smiles at him, making his heart flutter as her creamy cheeks were red from frustration and light mousy brown hair messy and slightly tangled.

"Need a hand?" he asks, despite the obvious answer. She nods enthusiastically, happy that he was finally helping her and no one else.

While Harry gives her a few tips on how to hold her wand to get the most out of the spell, she looks at the passion in his eyes when he's deep in describing a spell and is reminded of a scene from a few weeks ago.

 ***Flashback***

Malfoy was standing near the Golden Trio showing off his new badge off to his fellow Slytherins, indicating his spot on the group that Umbridge put together called the Inquisitorial Squad.

Veronica wandered over to the Trio who were standing in the entrance hall, waiting for her as they had started to do now before meals. Before they could greet each other properly and head off to the Great Hall, Malfoy had strutted over to them, his posse following him a few paces behind.

"Potter! Like our new badges?" Malfoy's loud arrogant voice echoes around them as he steps in their way with a smirk stretching across his pale face.

"Lovely Malfoy, you look like even more of a suck-up than usual" Harry snarkily responds irritated, his words clearly angering the Slytherin, his pointed features screwing up as he stares down Harry.

"Like you can talk Potter! You've constantly licked Dumbledore's feet! Saint Potter thinking he can get what he wants after befriending that baffled old man!"

This bothered Veronica a lot as she finds herself putting the utmost trust in their Headmaster, and also she knew how those particular words affected Harry as the boy revealed his troubled relationship with Dumbledore recently, thinking the Professor was purposely ignoring him.

Maybe that's why she felt the need to speak up.

"Just stop it and leave Malfoy, he's obviously not interested" she speaks up confidently, surprising not only herself but her friends as well.

Malfoy hadn't paid her any attention until now, only just realising the Hufflepuff was there. As he laid his cold glare on her, she regretted opening her mouth at all.

"And who even are you? Do you think Potter really wants to hang around with a stupid little Hufflepuff? I think you should stop following him around like a lost puppy!" He snaps at her, his words making her take a few steps back, flinching as he unknowingly revealed her biggest anxieties.

"Shove off Malfoy," Ron says as he steps forward, placing a hand on Veronica's shoulder.

"Don't tell me you've resorted to hanging around this pathetic Hufflepuff, didn't think you were that desperate?" the blonde says, making the Slytherins behind him snigger as they look Veronica up and down turning their noses up at her.

"Leave her alone Malfoy, you can't go round insulting our friends like that" Hermione speaks up, but the group ignores her and finally swaggered away still sniggering and glancing back at the girl.

The trio turns towards her and when they noticed the tears in her eyes, her obviously not used to Malfoy's abuse, gave her comforting touches or looks.

"Don't worry Veronica, we won't let Malfoy get away with what he said to you" Ron said watching as Hermione nods rubbing the girl's arm.

Veronica glances at them still feeling slightly insecure. Harry saw this and wrapped an arm around her shoulders grinning brightly at her. "Yeah, you're one of our closest friends, it doesn't matter what other people, especially the Slytherins, think," he says passionately, giving her one more squeeze before leading the group into the Great Hall.

 ***End Flashback***

She thought back to that day when the Trio had defended her in front of Malfoy and then called her a close friend and remembered how much joy she had felt from just those few simple words.

Glancing at Harry one more time, she closes her eyes again picturing all of her friends and how happy they truly made her feel this past year despite bad events occurring around them.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A gasp makes her open her eyes and she sees the most beautiful creature release from her wand, galloping around the room with their head held high. She smiles as she watched the doe frolicking with the other animals, not noticing the astounded gaze from the boy next to her.

The sound of a loud crack filled the room, shocking people out of their concentration as the many Patronuses disappeared. They looked around confused until they saw the small house elf stumbling over to Harry.

"Dobby!? Why are you here?" he questions walking over to the obviously distressed elf.

"Harry Potter!" stuttered the elf, who looked like he was trying to say something but was also holding himself back. Harry saw this as well and leaned down to speak softly to Dobby.

"She said not to tell but, Dobby had to warn Harry Potter, they're coming". The students that heard tense and nerves were high around the room.

"Umbridge?" the boy questioned as if it wasn't clear by now who Dobby was talking about, and the forced nod the house-elf gave was all he needed to give before Harry turned to address the crowd.

"Well, what are you waiting for, run!" He shouts, clutching Veronica's wrist and hastily dragging her through the bustle of people running from the room. He faced her, rushing, and told her to get herself as far away as possible while grabbing her face between his hands. Not listening to her protests, he firmly pushed her one way before running in the other direction.

As much as she wanted to run after him, Veronica knew she wouldn't be much help and so she did what he told her and didn't stop running until she was safely back in the Hufflepuff common room, relieved to find Ernie and Hannah also made it back.

She tried to force it out of her mind but couldn't stop worrying about Harry and the rest of the DA the whole night.

 **oOo**


	28. Chapter 27

**oOo**

The news was plastered all over the common room before the sun had even risen fully the next morning.

Dolores Umbridge was the new Headmistress of Hogwarts and after a quick read of the Daily Prophet, Veronica found out that Dumbledore was now on the run and wanted for committing treason against the Ministry of Magic.

She was shocked at this quick development and knew something big must have happened last night after they were caught in the Room of Requirement, and so went to find Harry before breakfast that morning.

On her way to the Gryffindor Common Room, Veronica had bumped into the Golden Trio making their way down to the Great Hall, and she rerouted walking up to them with many questions on the tip of her tongue.

Harry had almost finished filling her in on what had happened last night after he was caught by Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad, which involved Dumbledore taking the blame for the DA and then refusing arrest and disappearing in a huge flame after making his opponents unconscious.

While he was telling the outrageous tale to Veronica, her eyes wide in astonishment and making small gasps at different parts of the story, Harry received a notice from Umbridge and was called to her office for what they later found out was interrogations about Dumbledore and Sirius, the interrogations becoming quite common and spread to all sorts of students.

The days went by slowly and painfully, now that the DA had been busted and Umbridge is officially in charge of the school, Veronica found that she was just sitting around bored half the time. The other half of the time she was busy revising for her OWLs which were fast approaching and in order to do well Veronica knew that she would have to put in a lot of effort.

Something that managed to keep her and the other students entertained for a little while had been the Weasley twins complete lack of respect for their new Headmistress and the rules she had set in place. The day after Dumbledore's departure they had begun setting off their very own fireworks around the school, which made Umbridge's blood boil the longer it went on for. Especially considering the rest of the staff did nothing to help her regain control.

 **oOo**

It happened during the Careers Sessions that all fifth years were required to attend. This was where students had to sit down with their Heads of House and talk about what they wanted to do once they'd left Hogwarts, and get guidance on which OWLS and NEWTS were needed in order to achieve this goal.

Unlike other people, Veronica had no idea what she wanted to do when she left Hogwarts as she usually hated thinking that far ahead. She told Professor Sprout this, and the woman tried to help her figure out what she could do and go from there.

"Okay you're highest exam marks are in Divination and Charms, do either of those interest you enough for you to go into a career in that area?" questioned Sprout.

Veronica was clearly very intrigued about her skills of Divination, both Trelawney and Firenze said she had the 'eye' and whether it be a good or a bad thing, she could definitely use it to her advantage in the right workplace.

However, she decided not to let Professor Sprout know about her affliction with Divination because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore the sharp gaze of Professor Umbridge staring at her from the corner of the room. She had decided it was her duty as Headmistress to sit through these meetings and listen in on the discussions taking place.

What Veronica didn't understand was why Umbridge was bothering with sitting through the meetings with people like her in it, because she wasn't particularly interesting nor did she think the High Inquisitor even knew her name. Obviously listening in on people like Harry's meeting would be beneficial for Umbridge but Veronica was arguably one of the plainest students at the school.

She left the careers session slightly underwhelmed, carrying pamphlets for jobs such as receptionist or store clerk, feeling disappointed that not even her Head of House saw potential in her.

As she was walking down the stairs, heading towards her common room to dump the pamphlets, a commotion on one of the floors distracted her and she followed the noise.

There she found the corridor had been transformed into a watery, green swampy mess and it spread across the entire floor, not allowing access across to anyone. Before she could even begin to consider what had happened, she noticed Fred and George floating on a plank of wood in the middle of the murky swamp.

Umbridge appeared behind her panting from the obvious sprinting she did once word had reached her about the swamp, and upon seeing her Veronica shuffled away slightly, closer to the wall.

Fred and George stood there with huge grins on their faces as the stared down Umbridge, a smug look in their eyes. It seemed they weren't really listening to a word she was saying, frankly neither was Veronica until she heard Umbridge mention whips and she tuned back into the conversation.

The twins were still chuckling and they quickly announced that they had outgrown their education at Hogwarts. With a wave of their wands, broomsticks flew towards them, that Veronica recognised as the previously confiscated brooms, and they jumped on, flying out of the open window after announcing their new shop on Diagon Alley.

Veronica had an immense feeling of pride inside of her as she watched, along with the rest of the students, Fred and George fly into the clouds.

 **oOo**

Only after meeting up with the Golden Trio later did she realise that Fred and George leaving was a team effort, and had enabled Harry some time to sneak into Umbridge's office and use her fireplace to talk to Sirius and Remus.

Little had come from the conversation but Veronica could tell that Harry was in a much better mood after seeing and talking to the men he saw as family.

She decided to pull him to the side after dinner, as she was curious as to why he had left out the details of his conversation with Sirius and Remus or even why he went to talk to them in the first place.

"Harry, what did you want to talk to Sirius and Remus about anyway?" she asked after shooing Ron and Hermione towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

He looked at her with a bemused look on his face but quickly caught on to what she was asking and his face dropped. He filled her in on the scene he had witnessed during his Occlumency session with Snape of his father bullying and tormenting their potions professor.

She pitied the boy in front of her as he had grown up without his parents and the first time he sees them properly interact with each other and their friends, is when his father is being mean and rude to his peers, and his mother being rude towards his dad.

After he finished his story, his eyes had become downcast, playing with his fingers as he seemed embarrassed by his father's behaviour, so she decided to give him a hug.

"It doesn't matter how your father acted when he was a teenager Harry, we all make mistakes. What's important was that he was a good man, in the end, sacrificing himself for you and the rest of the Wizarding World". As she says this he pulls back slightly to look her in the eyes, their arms still squeezing each other lightly.

"You should be proud of the man he became, and the person that you're becoming - just like him you are strong and you deserve the world", she whispers, her eyes sending comforting looks his way.

Harry's careful eyes watched her, and then he slowly began to lean forward, the small space between them getting even smaller. Instinctually, her eyes shut and she leant forward as well.

Their lips met and the kiss was slow at first, both teens were being wary around each other, but soon they picked up the pace, getting used to the feeling and sinking into the passionate embrace.

Veronica's hands found themselves in his raven black hair, running it through her fingers as she caressed the back of his head. Harry's hands, however, were remaining at her waist, the only change was his fingers gripping her tightly in response to her strokes.

Too soon, they pulled away, both flushed and out of breath from the passionate and yet cautious kiss. It wasn't too steamy nor did they turn it into more than just a simple kiss, but as they smiled at each other with their foreheads connected, they realised that it was perfect nonetheless.

 **oOo**


	29. Chapter 28

**oOo**

As the OWLs drifted frighteningly close, the fifth year students became panicked. Everywhere you looked you would find students with their noses stuck in their books trying to cram all the information they've been taught over the past few years into their heads.

Veronica found herself revising with the Golden Trio on most days, even if that meant she was constantly distracted by the presence of Harry.

After their kiss, they didn't talk much and went back to their respective common rooms, where they both ended up talking about what had just happened to either Ron and Hermione or Ernie and Hannah. Hannah was overjoyed and loudly squealed once she'd been told, insisting that Veronica and Harry were a match made in heaven.

Despite the obvious excitement that both the teens felt and the blossoming feelings they have for the other, they did little about it. They had yet to bring up the events of the kiss since it happened but didn't feel awkward around each other either. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

They were now seen together even more than before, and when around they were always insanely close to one another, almost as if there was a gravitational pull keeping the two of them united at all times.

 **oOo**

One of the only times they were dragged away from their studying, was when there was a Quidditch match on at the weekend. Veronica, Harry and Hermione had obviously turned up to show support for Ron during the final championship match, but Hagrid had shown up to whisk them away.

The half-giant had brought them deep within the Forbidden Forest with only the brief explanation that he wanted them to do him a favour.

The three of them were confused, up until they came across a clearing in the middle of the Forest and standing in front of them was a large, overbearing yet child-like giant. Hagrid called him 'Grawp' and quickly explained that he was his half-brother and had found him when he was with the other giants in the mountains.

Grawp was an impressive figure, standing way above them in height, but still managed to strike fear in Veronica as she stood behind the two Gryffindors.

Hagrid explained to the students that he needed to make sure someone looked after Grawp if he was unable to, which was beginning to look more and more likely as the days went on due to Umbridge's obvious hatred towards the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

The meeting with Grawp was cut short by the arrival of the centaurs who were less than pleased at the giant's arrival in their forest, and also had some choice words to say about Firenze, who was turning out to be a pretty good Divination teacher despite what they said about him.

Gryffindor won the match, making them the Quidditch champions yet again, although it didn't trigger the same amount of cheerfulness in Harry as it usually did due to the ban imposed on him and the fact that his broom was still confiscated, nevertheless, there was a brief celebration for the team's achievements anyway.

 **oOo**

The weeks of the OWL exams had come around too quickly for Veronica's liking, but she had to admit that it wasn't as difficult as she first believed they would be.

She was pretty confident that she'd passed all of the exams she'd taken so far, and maybe even aced a few of them. The theory exams were easier than the practise exams that she was sure of, but it was obvious that the practice and the DA had helped her immensely.

One exam that Veronica knew she failed was Astronomy, this was due to the fact that halfway through the practical, the students were distracted by the commotion outside.

Hagrid's house on the edge of the grounds was alight, flames high as the easily recognisable figure of Dolores Umbridge surrounded by ministry officials attempted to arrest Hagrid for his half-blooded nature.

Their spells are bouncing straight off of Hagrid's large frame as he punches and pushed his way out of their grasp, his roars echoing across Hogwarts. Still, the officials were determined to capture him as they carried on shooting spells in his direction. Even as McGonagall marched out of the castle to stop them, she was hit with a spell that made her unconscious and fired her limp body away from the crowd.

Hagrid managed to get away, but by this point, the exam was almost over and any attempts by the examiners to return to normal conditions were useless as the fifth years angrily discussed what they had witnessed. It was safe to say that none of the fifth years was going to get anywhere close to full marks on their Astronomy exam.

 **oOo**

It was getting close to the end of the year and OWL exams were almost over. The fifth-year students had already started relaxing even though they still had History of Magic that afternoon.

Veronica was standing outside the Great Hall with the Trio, remaining quite quiet due to all the information in her head that she was trying to remember. The others were in the same boat as her, though she was sure Hermione had no need to panic - just like all of the previous exams.

Just before they were due to enter the hall, Harry had frozen for a few seconds, his hand clutching his forehead. Veronica only noticed the pause because she was standing just behind him, so once his body had relaxed and his hand fell down to his side she gripped it, causing him to look over at her.

"Everything okay?" she asked quite casually, hiding the slight concern she had for the boy. He looked at her nonchalantly and nodded, "Yea, I'm fine," and then quickly changed the subject, "Can't believe this is our last exam!".

She grinned enthusiastically and agreed with him, excited to be able to spend more free time with him once they have no work to catch up on.

The conversation was cut short by the examiners opening the doors and inviting the students to take their seats in the hall. With a final squeeze of each other's hands, they part ways towards their seats, ordered alphabetically.

The exam wasn't going very well for Veronica, the questions oddly specific which highlighted her lack of key knowledge of the history of magic. She had almost given up when a painful scream came from behind her, near the back of the hall.

Along with the rest of the students, she swivelled in her chair and saw that Harry had collapsed onto the floor in an uncomfortable position as if he'd just fallen off his chair. His hand was once again gripping his forehead tightly as he let out small whimpering noises following the scream.

The examiner led him out of the hall, presumably to take him to the hospital wing, ordering the students to get back to their work. Mostly, people followed the instructions but for the rest of the time Veronica couldn't get Harry's writhing body out of her mind and as soon as the exam had finished she sprinted out of the hall looking for the boy, Ron and Hermione following behind her.

 **oOo**


	30. Chapter 29

**oOo**

Harry was hysterical. Once they'd managed to find him he had tried to fill them in on what he had seen in his dream when he'd fallen asleep during the exam, but it was rushed and hard to understand.

Apparently, what had happened just before Christmas where Harry had got inside You-Know-Who's mind, had happened once again. The boy hurriedly explained that he'd seen Sirius, in a similar position as Mr Weasley, being attacked and tortured in the secret hallway of the Ministry of Magic.

"We have to help him. I need to leave straight away!" Harry exclaimed, his green eyes watering in despair.

Veronica didn't know what to make of this information. Harry had developed a close relationship with his Godfather and so seeing the man in such a vulnerable state has obviously made him emotional. She wanted to support and comfort him, but at the same time, she believed that Harry was thinking irrationally.

Luckily Hermione, the voice of reason, spoke up letting Harry know of the dangers of just leaving Hogwarts straight away. Especially since this image he saw could be a trap put forward by You-Know-Who, as they now knew the influence he had on the boy's mind. Veronica was especially worried this was the case as this time, she hadn't seen what Harry had.

The poor boy was desperate and so after seeing the look on his face, Veronica decided to play along, for now, suggesting that he at least try to get in contact with Sirius first, in case this is a trap and the man is still at Grimmauld Place. The only way to achieve this was to sneak into Umbridge's office yet again.

 **oOo**

While on their way to Umbridge's office, they managed to get a few members of the DA (Neville, Ginny and Luna) to help them distract the woman while Harry tried to get in contact with Sirius in her fireplace.

Veronica stood in the office watching Harry kneel over the fireplace, his head engulfed in the flames. She couldn't hear what was being said, and her, Hermione and Ron hovered around him silently waiting for him to finish,

She was impatiently and nervously shifting her weight on her feet, her mind filled with different scenarios where they were caught in this office. Glancing around at the pink walls and the fluffy carpets, the setting made her feel uneasy as she purposely avoided looking at the cats hissing from their plates along the walls.

Eventually, Harry emerged from the fire, his face even paler than it was before as he explained what Kreacher told him. Sirius was not at Grimmauld Place and the house elf had pretty much confirmed the danger his master may be in.

Harry had the idea in his mind that he had to go alone, but they weren't having any of it. "Harry when are you going to understand that we're in this together", Hermione stressed stepping forward to help Harry up from his position kneeling on the ground.

"That You Are!" a screeching voice came from behind them and made them all tense and freeze as chills ran up Veronica's spine. Turning around she saw Umbridge standing there with a few Slytherins, some holding onto their friends that offered to help.

 **oOo**

She stood there panicked, wondering what would happen to them now that they have been caught.

Malfoy had grabbed her quickly after they were discovered in Umbridge's office and she had been held tightly in his grip ever since while Harry sent sharp glares at the blonde every time she whimpered from the pain.

After standing there for what felt like forever, with Umbridge asking intruding questions over who Harry was talking to, Snape walked through the office door.

"Ah Severus, finally. I need some Veritaserum quickly!" demanded the pink woman, her face flush with excitement over catching Harry going against the rules yet again and getting some answers for her precious Minister.

Umbridge's face soon fell when the potions master informed her that he had none left in stock after her continuous use of it, not-so-subtly calling her out on the mistreatment of the students she interrogated. As he turned to leave the room Harry decided to speak up.

"He's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden!" he exclaims, making everyone who didn't know what was happening stare at him in confusion. Snape claims he had no idea what Harry was talking about before once again turning and leaving the room, his long black cloak billowing behind him dramatically.

Veronica's heart was beating so loudly at this point, she was sure the people around her could hear it. They were quickly running out of options and were about to face whatever punishment Umbridge saw as fitting, which could've been anything.

What she wasn't expecting was the mention of the Cruciatus Curse, and she immediately spoke up, terrified yet furious at even just the thought of using an Unforgivable on a student.

"That's illegal!" she exclaimed before Umbridge could take a step closer to Harry who was seated in the middle of the room on a wooden, uncomfortable looking chair. Malfoy tugged her arm aggressively once more to get her to shut up but she still didn't back down from her fearless stance.

"What the Minister doesn't know won't hurt him", said the 'Headmistress', turning the picture she had of Fudge on her desk around as if he could see what was about to happen.

Thanks to her quick thinking, Hermione managed to think of a distraction that stopped the woman inflicting any damage onto Harry. Veronica caught on and joined in, the two girls telling a fable of how Dumbledore had a secret weapon hidden in the forest that they were preparing.

Umbridge ordered them to bring her to it, snatching Harry up from his seat and shoving him out of the room impatiently as the girls were released from the hold of their captives.

 **oOo**

Hermione led the group down to the forest, guiding them further and further in until she was sure Umbridge wouldn't be able to find her own way out. Unfortunately, it seemed Grawp had wandered off, the rope keeping him in the clearing snapped and frayed on the ground.

They turned to look at each other, dumbfounded by the fact that the Giant had managed to escape the one time they actually needed him.

Just as Umbridge had started to chew them out once again, demanding them to stop playing around the herd of Centaurs showed up once again, just like the first time they visited Grawp, angrier than ever.

It was a clash between the hatred of half-breeds from Umbridge and the hatred of wizards from the centaurs, throwing insults either way, but obviously the centaurs were much stronger and much more frustrated. It ended in them attacking the woman and dragging her away as she screamed for the three teens to help her.

But they just stood there watching as their DADA teacher got what she deserved after a whole academic year of control and torture, a sense of satisfaction washed over them and not even Veronica felt the slightest bit of sympathy as she listened to the struggle.

 **oOo**

As they left the forest, they ran into the rest of the group who had managed to escape the Inquisitorial Squad with the genius plan of Ron's and the puking pastels of the Weasley Twins.

Harry became serious once again as he faced his friends, all standing ready and willing to follow him. "Look guys thanks for your help but I need to go -" Veronica marched up to the incredulous boy, placed both of her hands on either side of his face and looked straight into his eyes.

"When are you going to understand that we're not leaving you. Ever." her stern voice cut through the silence of the group surrounding them, "We are always going to help you, Harry. Now stop wasting time and let's go!".

He stared at the girl in front of him, astounded by her strength and willingness to believe him despite what others around her said about him, and that was what made her truly beautiful in his eyes.

With a quick peck on her lips, he focused back on the task at hand and stated they need to get to the ministry the quickest way they can.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Luna as she interrupted their brainstorming over available transport. "We fly of course!" said the whispy girl, excitedly.

And with that, people found themselves mounting invisible creatures that only a couple of them could actually see. Veronica tightened her grip around Harry's waist as he guided their Thestral into the air with the single command of "To the Ministry of Magic!"

 **oOo**


	31. Chapter 30

**oOo**

Once they arrived outside the Ministry, Veronica quickly jumped off of the Thestral, sighing in relief as soon as her feet touched the ground. As comfortable as it was to have her arms wrapped around Harry the whole way there, her stomach was still churning over the feeling of flying on an invisible creature.

Everyone seemed to feel a similar way to her and they were all soon crowded around a red telephone box, which Harry called the 'visitors entrance' that he went through during his trial last summer.

They piled into the box, painfully squashed up next to each other. Veronica had her front pressed up against the side of the box and so had no idea what was going on behind her, the view of the street outside was the only thing she could see.

"Whoever is close to the numbers, press 62442" Harry's voice shouts from right beside her ear, making her jump in fright, not expecting him to be so close even though she could feel his body against hers.

The box descended slowly and Veronica became more and more aware of Harry's presence behind her, especially after he rested his hands on her waist to catch himself from stumbling as the door opened and they started to pour out. They were the last to exit the box and both their faces were lit bright red.

Harry's focus soon went back to the mission as he managed to guide the whole group down a series of empty corridors and taking the lift a few floors to places that he's never visited in person before but has plagued his dreams all year. He was so confident that he knew the way that no one questioned him and followed behind in a rushed silence.

As they reached the Department of Mysteries, Veronica started to recognise the corridor they were going down, as she had witnessed it once before in her vision about Mr Weasley.

She also had piqued interest in the department as she had never been before but knew her father came every day for a job he wasn't allowed to share. The black tiled walls and floors were eerily dark, with no windows and hardly any lights making the entire place shadowed and mysterious.

A few more of them were also looking around interested in what the ministry could be hiding down in this department but Harry had no such plans. If anything, he had sped up heading towards the door at the end of the corridor that looked extremely important with gold and silver ornaments decorating it.

They entered through the door and found themselves in a circular room with doors surrounding them from every direction. As soon as the door behind them closed, the room started rotating, making it impossible to recognise where they'd already been.

It took a few tries for them to finally reach the room Harry believed Sirius to be in, coming across various interesting rooms along the way full of large jelly brains, an entire copy of the solar system and even a room dedicated to clocks and watches.

The room that they finally entered into was by far the most interesting to Veronica. Rows and rows of shelves piled higher than she could see filled the seemingly never-ending long hall. These shelves were filled with glowing white orbs, all containing a secretive mist and let off different auras and sounds to Veronica as she walked by them.

It was strangely quiet considering there was an apparent torture taking place, and this was one of the first signs Veronica should have taken into account that it was a trap and they were in fact, in terrible danger.

Too absorbed in trying to read and understand the noises and sounds that vaguely resembled hushed words coming from the surrounding spheres, Veronica had almost failed to notice they had stopped their pursuit of the raven-haired boy.

"I don't understand, he's supposed to be right here?!" Harry muttered confused and slightly frustrated that he still couldn't find his Godfather.

The dread filled everyone as the minutes ticked by, frantically looking around to see if they missed something, like a body or a sign that someone was there before them, but the room was empty, or so they thought.

Veronica noticed a particular orb was glowing brighter than the others ones and took a step forward to try and make out what was echoing out of that particular sphere. It was only when she read Harry's name on the plaque underneath it that she called out to the boy, making him move next to her and reach out to pick it up.

Before any of them could decipher what the orbs were for, they were distracted by slow footsteps tracing around them as a dark figure appeared in front of them, appearing out of the shadows, making the group of students shuffle closer to each other and raise their wands in defence.

The man revealed himself as Lucius Malfoy and he began to mock Harry for falling into the trap they set in place.

As Malfoy spoke, more and more hooded figures appeared, surrounding the group causing them to all face different directions, keeping an eye on the people around them.

Veronica was still barely focusing on what was being said, the voices echoing from the orbs around her getting louder, as if they now knew she was there and were trying to get her attention. A high pitched laugh screeched through the air as a woman stepped towards them next to Malfoy.

She had messy untamed black hair curling around her face and down her back. The ripped black dress and robes she had on were draping along the floor, the leather-clad feet poking out of the bottom every time she took a step forward.

The wild look in the woman's eyes terrified Veronica, and Neville as well it seemed as he stepped forward in fear and anger.

The woman, Bellatrix Lestrange as Neville addressed her as, laughed once again, looking among them with her nose in the air and a pinched expression on her face. Her eyes landed on Veronica and a look of recognition lit up on her face as she gave a smug grin towards the girl.

Harry noticed this look and cautiously stepped in Bellatrix's line of sight raising his wand higher in warning, which only made the insane woman more amused as she stared at the teens in front of her.

It soon became clear that the Death Eaters were there for the object that Harry now held in his hand, the prophecy, they called it, and that it seemed to be a major part of You-Know-Who's plans for the future.

The conversation became more deadly, the longer Harry held onto the prophecy the more uptight Malfoy became, dropping his faux politeness. Not even the thought of finally getting answers to the connection between Harry and You-Know-Who was convincing the boy to hand it over.

Veronica was about to drift back into listening to the orbs that were loudly calling out to her, which no one else seemed to hear when Harry leant back and whispered to the group to get ready to run, and her body filled with adrenaline as she focused back onto death eaters.

The boy gripped Veronica's hand tightly, and she saw this as a preparatory warning. With a final glare at Malfoy and Bellatrix, Harry took a deep breath and on the count of three let out a large yell, "NOW!"

 **oOo**


	32. Chapter 31

**oOo**

Her breath stuttered as she lagged behind, the extent of her laziness showing through. She was certain that if Harry didn't still have a firm grip on her hand, she would've been caught by the death eaters chasing them around the department of mysteries.

The group had split up while on the run not only from the death eaters but from the falling shelves of prophecies after they sent multiple stunning spells in different directions, knocking over a few shelves which caused a domino effect on the whole room.

Veronica was with Harry as even is she wanted to run in another direction, he had been tugging her along with him since they started running, Neville and Hermione following closely behind them as they headed back through the different rooms they'd come across before.

Arriving in the Time Chamber, they sealed the door and quickly tried to hide before they were ambushed by a couple of death eaters that Harry recognised from the previous year. Veronica and Harry were underneath a table trying to control their heavy breathing as the door broke open and footsteps appeared in their line of vision.

Before they could be caught off-guard, Harry managed to stun the larger of the two, and as his body slumped against the ground, the other one turned quickly with his wand raised, their cover blown.

As he began casting spells, Neville and Hermione had to start dodging them by running around the room. Curses flew in every direction, hitting the walls and clocks surrounding them, probably leaving thousands of galleons of damage.

The man pointed his wand towards Hermione and shouted "Avad-", Harry jumped out of from under the table, leaving Veronica behind as he charged towards the death eater. He threw his body on him, successfully distracting the death eater by falling into a shelf of watches causing them to smash as they hit the floor.

Neville hadn't seen Harry coming however and cast a disarming charm in their direction, which knocked both the death eater and Harry back.

Harry collapsed onto the ground but Hermione stunned the death eater prompting him to crash into a large bell glass jar that was sitting on a table near the edge of the room. Veronica crawled out from under the table avoiding broken glass to witness the mans head, which was stuck in the jar, to shrink slowly, his features getting younger while his hair and beard retreat into his head.

There on top of his shoulders was a large baby head, who burst into tears, sobbing and screeching. The four students stopped what they were doing and watched with confused expressions at the once terrifying man, now having snot running down his face and flushed red chubby cheeks.

Veronica noticed his hair was starting to grow back and got the others attention so they could get out of there before the death eater returned to normal, just in case he escaped and tried to attack them again.

 **oOo**

They stepped into a room off of the side of the Time Chamber, which seemed to be offices filled with desks piled high with paperwork.

As soon as they walked through the door a spell came shooting in their direction, the others jumped out of the way and Veronica flinched away as it grazed the side of her face painfully.

"WE'VE GOT THEM-" shouted one of the death eaters who ambushed them, but was quickly silenced by Hermione sending a silencing charm in his direction. This angered the man, and he flicked his wand towards her, a purple whip-like charm hitting her in the chest.

Hermione let out a soft 'oh' before her body floated to the ground, unconscious.

Veronica crouched by the girl's body, concerned over what silent curse had hit her newfound friend and how harmful it could potentially be, ignoring her throbbing cheek as a result of the stinging spell from earlier.

Neville had then charged headfirst at the man once he saw Hermione's body but the death eater was ready for him and grabbed the boy's wand, snapping it in half before kicking him in the face.

Now also on the ground, he crawled over to Hermione and sat next to Veronica. He checked the unconscious girl's heartbeat, sharing a relieved sigh with the Hufflepuff when they realised she seemed to be alive and okay, despite her motionless body.

Behind them, the baby headed death eater burst through the doorway they originally came through, high-pitched crying echoing around the room, bringing everyone's attention towards him. Harry took this opportunity to stun the death eater who was currently attacking them.

With the threat temporarily gone, they quickly convened around Hermione's body. Neville informed Harry that the Gryffindor girl was alright and after a scan of his broken wand, he swiftly discarded it and picked up Hermione's to use instead.

They evacuated with Neville carrying the unconscious girl and found their way back to the circular entrance room, where they thankfully bumped into the others, who weren't in any better condition than they were.

Ginny was limping as she had broken her ankle, and Ron had apparently been hit by a curse that made him highly confused and giddy. Luna explained that they'd only just managed to get away from the Death Eaters chasing them and that they were probably still quite close.

Just as she said that Bellatrix Lestrange burst into the room, followed by a large number of death eaters causing the group to hurry into the closest door they found.

It seemed that none of the rooms in the Department of Mysteries were normal, as Veronica was slightly taken aback by the floating pink brains surrounding them in tanks. She wondered what they could possibly be used for on a regular basis, especially after Ron got too close to a brain and tentacles appeared from the organ, wrapping themselves tightly around the ginger's head and neck.

Luna shot past them all of a sudden, crashing into the wall, knocking her head unconscious immediately on impact.

They were now cornered by the Death Eaters who had managed to circle them and block off all exits from the room.

Ginny was hit with a stunning spell and Veronica was now busy trying to sever the tentacles from strangling Harry's best mate while avoiding curses that were being fired around her.

Looking at his friends struggle against the Death Eaters, Harry decided to run off in another direction, distracting some of Voldemort's followers as they chased after him, Veronica saw Neville follow after him so carried on helping Ron.

Suddenly, she was grabbed aggressively hard from behind and despite her struggling, was dragged off through the darkness, her friends following behind her also being dragged by Death Eaters. They found themselves in a large cavern-like room with a stone archway in the centre, a misted veil with soft whispers coming from the archway.

Harry was stood opposite Lucius Malfoy, noticing his friends being threateningly held up by numerous death eaters circled around him.

Bellatrix was gripping Veronica, one hand pulling on her hair and the other holding a wand up to her neck, the small whimpering sounds coming from the girl angered Harry. This amused Bellatrix who kept tightening her grip to create more of these sounds, as if the woman was pleased with her actions.

Harry and Lucius were in the midst of conversation, the boy realising that in order to save his friends he'll need to hand over the prophecy.

Reaching out his hand to give Lucius the orb, the man's eyes alight with glee as the object made its way into his possession. However, as his black leather-gloved hands closed in around the sphere, white lights started appearing around the room.

He turned quickly and saw the angry face of Sirius Black directly behind him. Sirius punched Malfoy directly in the face, throwing the man to the side unexpectedly and the prophecy smashed into the ground, voices rising from it that couldn't be heard over the battle that had ensued between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters.

Veronica had been released from Bellatrix's hold, just to be thrown into the arms of someone else, her vision blocked as she was pressed into their chest. She started to struggle until she took in her father's familiar scent and with a huge relief, collapsed into his embrace as he led her to the edge of the room.

Jonathan placed his daughter behind a large boulder before running off to rejoin the fights taking place in the centre of the room.

Hermione and Luna's unconscious bodies lay beside Veronica as she pathetically watched the battle happen, wanting to help but thought she would just get in the way.

Sirius and Harry were doubled up with each other, the two a force to be reckoned with as they duelled multiple Death Eaters. She watched in awe at the determination in the Order members faces and fired a few disarming charms from behind the stone to aid the ones struggling.

Harry's attention was brought over to the door, as Dumbledore stormed into the chamber with a furious expression on his face.

Many of the duels halted at his entrance, but Sirius and Bellatrix had carried on fighting, the cousins barely noticing the world around them as they threw curse after curse in each other's direction.

"Is that all you've got?!" Sirius taunted, laughing in the crazy woman's direction. But at that precise moment, she cast another spell towards him, the Killing curse hitting him directly in the chest. He paused wincing, the smile from his laugh still lingered on his face as he fell back into the veiled archway.

Time seemed to slow down completely as Veronica watched the man die in front of her. She faintly heard Harry's scream from the other side of the room as Bellatrix took off, sprinting away from the chamber, dodging Dumbledore as she went.

Veronica barely noticed Harry run after the woman, too caught up in what she'd just witnessed, her heart falling into her stomach and her body frozen in shock.

The Order rounded up the Death Eaters and once they had all surrendered, Dumbledore went to follow Harry to the atrium, where unbeknownst to them, Voldemort had appeared and another duel took place.

 **oOo**


	33. Chapter 32

**oOo**

The rest of the evening was a blur, the students gathered in the chamber were quickly sent back to Hogwarts to be tended to by Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. Harry was currently in Dumbledore's office, where he'd been since they had returned to school.

Veronica was sat on one of the many beds in the Hospital Wing, the day's fast-paced activities catching up to her and she couldn't believe that she had sat an exam earlier that morning. Her eyes were drooping, longing for sleep, but she knew she couldn't rest just yet because she had yet to be treated.

Madame Pomfrey was mending Ginny's broken ankle, the bed surrounded by Weasleys when Harry finally slumped through the door, barely noticed by many of the Hospital Wing's inhabitants.

He sees Veronica, who was staring quite inquisitively yet sympathetically at him, and made his way towards her picking up speed the closer he got - desperate to talk to someone.

As he approached her, she raised her arms open wide and he pounced into them, burying his head in the crevice between her shoulder and her neck breathing in her comforting scent as she ran her hands through his hair.

They didn't have to say anything to each other, not quite yet, not in front of all these people. For now, they were both content in the others arms.

 **oOo**

Over the next couple of weeks, a lot changed for Harry.

After seeing Voldemort in the flesh, Fudge couldn't deny his return any longer and had announced his resignation as Minister of Magic shortly after Harry's interview with Skeeter about the events of the Triwizard Tournament was republished in the Daily Prophet.

People began treating Harry as if they hadn't been slandering his name the whole year, smiling at him and greeting him when he walked past, pretending nothing had happened. It should've angered him, but at the time he had other things on his mind.

Soon after they'd all been discharged from the Hospital Wing, Harry had sat down with Veronica, Ron and Hermione to let them know about his confrontation with Bellatrix, and subsequently Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel. It was an emotional conversation, one that was filled with long pauses and deep thoughts, but was exactly what the boy needed.

Harry had never been more grateful for his friends, the comfort their presence gave him was one of the best feelings in the world and in his time of grief for Sirius was something he clung to.

Veronica was happy to be there for the boy, finding herself being the person he went to for a shoulder to cry on, silently grieving Sirius herself. She may not have been particularly close to the man but he was always nice to her when in each other's presence, and the joy he brought to Harry earned him her respect quite early on.

Harry also let them know about the prophecy Voldemort was so eager to collect, and once realising the orb was destroyed caused a wave of anger to sting through Harry's scar.

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..._

They'd spent the past few weeks of term trying to decode the message from Trelawney's prophecy, which Dumbledore had heard first hand. The old wizard had informed the boy that it was the reason Voldemort had gone after him when he was a baby, and the reason he was 'The Boy Who Lived'.

It was a large weight on Harry's shoulders as, according to the prophecy, he was the only one who could beat Voldemort. The pressure was heavy, and it seemed to have been dropped on him during the worst time in his life so far.

The school term was almost over, and as exams were long finished and since they no longer have a DADA teacher, as Umbridge had been suspended and removed from Hogwarts, the students were very relaxed around Hogwarts, oblivious to the war that had officially begun in the Wizarding World.

 **oOo**

Veronica was sitting with the Golden Trio's compartment on the Hogwarts Express, next to Harry and opposite Ron and Hermione.

The boys were playing Wizards Chess while Hermione and Veronica maintained small talk, trying to temporarily forget about the past couple of weeks and enjoy their company.

Unfortunately, this was quickly interrupted when the compartment door flew open and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stood in the doorway with angry expressions on their face. Veronica hadn't even stopped to realise that while they were mourning the loss of Sirius from the Battle, that a few Slytherin families had been torn apart when the Death Eaters were arrested, Malfoy and Crabbe's included.

Before the boys could do anything to harm them physically, all four of them had brought their wands into the air and shot individual spells in their direction. The Slytherins were also hit by numerous curses from outside the compartment, and the mistakenly combined magic had left some pretty gruesome effects.

A few members of the DA poked their heads in, admiring their work on the Slytherins faces, observing the tentacles, green slime and bulbous boils. They dragged the unconscious bodies further down the corridor, and while they did so Cho had walked past, peeking over to see the commotion flushing red when noticing Harry.

"What is going on between you and Cho anyway?" questions Ron, as they watched the Ravenclaw scutter away, her eyes trained on the floor of the train.

Hermione scoffed at Ron and rolled her eyes at the question, elbowing him while Harry gripped Veronica's hand in reassurance. "Um, nothing. I'm long over it" he replied happily, smiling softly at the Hufflepuff. She smiled back, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder as Hermione informs them Cho had also found comfort in the form of Ginny's ex, Michael Corner.

 **oOo**

Once they arrived at Kings Cross, they were shocked to find quite a few members of the Order of Phoenix there to greet them.

Mr and Mrs Weasley, Tonks, Lupin and Mad-Eye had then gone up to the Dursleys, with the group of students following closely behind them, slightly confused over what was about to happen.

Mr Dursley was obviously terrified of the group but tried to hide it by saying choice words back at them when they threatened him to treat Harry better. It amused the boy and he didn't even bother hiding the smile on his face, nor the laugh that emerged when Vernon recognised the Twins from when they'd crashed through the fireplace a few years ago.

Veronica had then found her parents waiting off to the side watching the confrontation patiently. She turned to Harry, catching his attention once more by placing her hands on his cheeks. Leaning in, she kissed him passionately as she knew they wouldn't see each other for a while, the boy responding appreciatively ignoring the playful whistling from the twins.

They eventually pulled away, wishing each other farewell, the boy watching with a sappy smile on his face as Veronica said goodbye to the rest of them before walking off towards her parents, sending him one last grin and wave as they exited the station.

Although this year was not what Harry thought it would be, he was thankful to be surrounded by so many amazing people and for Veronica. It was almost painful having to leave them and follow the Dursleys but knew that since Mad-Eye's warning, his summer wasn't going to be too dreadful.

 **oOo**


	34. Chapter 33

**oOo**

 _Harry,_

 _I'm doing okay, thanks for asking, I miss you too. Sorry, it took me so long to reply to your letter last week, my dad wasn't too pleased with me after our goodbye at Kings Cross. It's been quite tense at home recently, my mother is questioning whether I should even go back to Hogwarts for out Sixth Year. I don't think she trusts Dumbledore as much as me and my dad and is worried about my safety. It took us ages to convince her to let me go back, that's what the majority of the week was spent doing._

 _I'm sorry to hear that you're not enjoying your summer, you know the Weasleys are happy to have you over, I don't want you to have to suffer in silence. If you need to talk to someone I'm always here for you. I wish I could see you soon, it's so boring at home recently. I'm going to the Burrow tomorrow morning, Hermione mailed me saying she got there last night. Any idea when you can come round?_

 _Anyways, I have to finish packing my trunk and I can hear my dad coming up the stairs. He might not appreciate me writing to you this late at night._

 _Talk soon,_

 _Veronica xx_

 **oOo**

Rereading over the most recent letter from Veronica, Harry was lounging on his small springy single bed in the cramped bedroom at the Dursleys. He sighed wistfully, missing the Hufflepuff in ways he didn't realise he would.

His eyes drag over the various parchment scattered over his desk, drafts of letters he never sent her, his nerves appearing out of nowhere as he's never struggled to talk to Veronica before, his words usually flow quite naturally around the girl, but now that he had to write his feelings into a letter, he didn't know what to say.

It could also be due to the newfound press that the Battle had brought him. The newspapers were constantly talking about the boy, giving him the embarrassing new name of 'The Chosen One'.

Harry was now the Golden Boy of the Wizarding World, labelled as a hero for sticking to his truth even when the rest of the world didn't believe him, his face splashed on the front page of multiple newspapers and magazines.

Something that had made things between him and Veronica awkward was the fact that their public display of affection when they departed from each other at Kings Cross had made it's way to the press and now the whole of the Wizarding World was questioning their relationship, rumours spreading about how they've been boyfriend and girlfriend for a few months.

The two had never even privately confirmed their relationship, never making it 'official' as the tabloids called it, and now he felt as if there was pressure on the two of them to be together - even though they were more than comfortable the way they were.

He never asked Veronica how she felt about the attention, deciding it would be better to discuss it face to face rather than over pre-written messages, but until then, he found it difficult to let go of those thoughts and just write to her the way he normally would.

A commotion downstairs brought him out of his thoughts, making him open his bedroom door and peak out looking down at the landing. Dumbledore stood there in the entrance way of the house, inviting himself in despite Vernon's protests.

The headmaster was being as polite as he could be to the Dursleys and yet they treated him with caution and disrespect. The Hogwarts Headmaster ignored their dismay, making himself comfortable on their sofa.

Harry was shocked that Dumbledore was picking him up so early into the summer holidays, confused even though the old man had written to him to let him know earlier that week.

After getting over the strangeness of the situation, Harry started to pay attention to the words Dumbledore had started to speak and the news of Sirius' will was announced in the Dursley household.

Sirius had left Harry all of his possessions; Grimmauld Place, Buckbeak and everything in his bank account. The boy had successfully managed to keep his mind off of his Godfather for a little while, making sure he didn't spend his whole summer in a deep depressive mourning state.

To make sure the house had truly been given to Harry and not passed to the next remaining Black, who happened to be Bellatrix, Dumbledore made the boy summon Sirius' house-elf, Kreacher.

All the while this was happening the Dursleys sat silently on the sofa, stiff backs and beady eyes watching every move as if Harry and Dumbledore were planning on turning their magic onto the family themselves. As much as the boy wished he could, he gained enough satisfaction from the fear in his aunt and uncle's eyes alone.

Dumbledore soon stood back up and headed back towards the front door, ordering Harry to retrieve his trunk and follow along behind him.

The boy's luggage disappeared, the man telling him that it has been sent to the Burrow in advance of their arrival, due to the fact they have other business to attend to first, being mysteriously secretive over what he had planned.

Without glancing back at the house they were just inside, they apparated away with a loud pop, Harry holding tightly onto Dumbledore's arm, carefully avoiding his wrinkled blackened hand.

 **oOo**

Slughorn was an interesting fellow that was for sure.

Soon after meeting the retired professor, Harry realised why Dumbledore had brought him that night.

As he continued looking over the pictures Slughorn carried around while the two older men discussed Hogwarts business, a familiar looking face caught his eye, sitting next to his mother in the small group of students.

He looked closer at the picture, picking it up to get a better look. The woman standing next to Lily was almost a spitting image of the girl he couldn't get off of his mind.

"Ah yes, Miss Evans and Miss Newman, my two finest students," Slughorn's voice appeared from just behind Harry. Dumbledore's curious face also popped up next to the teen boy, glancing at the photograph he still held in his hand.

"They were very close, those two. Always at their best when they worked together, surprising talent considering their shared blood status", the old Potion's Master explained, mentioning Lily's Muggle-born status again, despite Harry's angry outburst the last time it was brought up.

Dumbledore seemed to know exactly what Harry was thinking about and decided to intervene, changing the subject slightly. "It appears Harry had developed a certain fondness for Miss Newton's daughter, Horace. Just like their mothers, they're rarely seen apart," the wise man stated, looking at Slughorn with a knowing look in his eyes.

This intrigued the man more than he cared to admit, and even though he refused the job at first, as Harry and Dumbledore were walking away he chased after them, accepting Dumbledore's offer, pretending it had nothing to do with this newfound information.

 **oOo**


	35. Chapter 34

**oOo**

It was the next morning, and Veronica was finishing packing her trunk, rushing around cursing the fact she hadn't done it earlier.

She was supposed to be heading to the Burrow any minute and her parents were patiently waiting for her by the fireplace while she stuffed the last minute pieces of homework that she was doing the night before into her book bag.

Excitement buzzed through her at the prospect of seeing Harry, the dream she had last night filling her with a hope that the boy would be there already and they could spend the rest of summer together. Of course, she had no idea when Dumbledore was going to visit Harry, but she had the feeling that it was while she was asleep.

Her eyes glanced over her room one more time making sure she hadn't left anything behind. The piled up editions of the Daily Prophet on her desk caught her eye, reminding her of what she had to face when she returns to the Wizarding World, she would no longer have the safety of her parents to hide behind once at Hogwarts.

Shaking the thought out of her mind, the girl retreated down the stairs, reminding herself that she should be looking forward to seeing her friends again rather than dreading it.

Saying goodbye to her parents who, despite Mrs Weasley's invitation, decided not to go with Veronica to drop her off, she stepped into the fireplace, grabbing a handful of Floo powder and disappeared in a flash of green flames after shouting her destination, The Burrow.

 **oOo**

She was greeted with the sight of Mrs Weasley and a beautiful blonde woman she remembers as Fleur Delacour, one of the Triwizard Champions from a couple of years ago.

Seeing her confused face, Mrs Weasley informs the girl that Fleur is engaged to the eldest Weasley son, Bill, after greeting her with a large grin and warm embrace. She was soon sent upstairs, following behind Fleur, who was guiding her to Ron's room, with a tray of breakfast food in her hands.

They stopped a few floors up from the ground floor, Veronica amazed by the structure and set up of the wooden house. It filled her with a warm feeling and every room had its own magical Weasley touch, making her stare around dumbfounded but with a smile on her face.

Knocking once, Fleur floated elegantly into the room, ending the conversation that was happening before her entrance.

As Veronica stepped through the doorway she grinned from ear to ear when she made eye contact with Harry. He pounced up off of the bed and gave her a massive embrace as if they hadn't seen each other in months, even though it had only been a few weeks.

From over his shoulder, she saw Hermione, Ginny and Ron staring at the two of them and waved timidly towards the group, before pulling away from the boy to greet them properly.

Fleur left after placing the breakfast tray on the bedside table, and as soon as the door had shut behind her Ginny began to complain about 'Phlegm' once again, amusing Veronica and the others. Apparently, Mrs Weasley had tried to get Bill and Tonks together, but after Sirius' death, the megamorphmagus was not in a particularly sociable mood.

With the mention of his Godfather, Harry had stopped laughing and sat there quietly, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Veronica noticed the sudden change in his behaviour but knew it wasn't the time to talk about it, so held his hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze every now and then to let him know she was there for him.

Harry wasn't the only one affected by the death of the infamous man, and it was quite upsetting to hear that someone such as Tonks, who was always the bright and cheerful one, had fallen into a depressive slump, unable to even change her appearance at will anymore.

Ginny left soon after the conversation had slowed to a halt, and Harry then filled the others in on what had happened the night before, with Dumbledore taking him to recruit the new professor, confirming Veronica's dream from the night before, her also informing them that she'd seen it happen.

 **oOo**

They were just about to sit down to dinner when the onslaught of owls came flying towards the Burrow.

Veronica and Harry were catching up in his room, with small intervals of kisses followed by short conversations about nothing in particular, just enjoying each other's company, when they heard Hermione scream from the kitchen.

Once they had gotten there after rushing down the stairs, they saw the birds swoop through the opened window, dropping off four official-looking Hogwarts envelopes, and swiftly took off again.

It was inevitable that their OWL results were going to arrive, but Veronica had lost track of the days and didn't expect it to arrive so soon.

Nerves filled the Hufflepuff as she played with the unopened letter in her hands for a short while, watching the others open their envelopes first, the sick feeling in her stomach worsening with every second.

The feeling lessened slightly when she noticed the smiles on Ron and Harry's faces as they discuss and swap results. Hermione had, obviously, done the best, only getting one E and the rest Os despite the disappointed look in her eyes.

Veronica was extremely proud of her friends as even through all the drama of their fifth year, had achieved very good grades, and even though she knew her results wouldn't be as impressive, she was happy nonetheless.

Harry finally looked over to the girl and noticed she had yet to even open the envelope. He walked over to her while Mrs Weasley distracted the others with her praise and offered to open them with her.

Arithmancy: P

Transfiguration: A

Astronomy: E

Charms: A

Defence Against the Dark Arts: E

Divination: O

Herbology: E

History of Magic: P

Potions: A

"No way! How did you get an O in Divination?!" Ron's voice surprised the two of them who were reading the letter when he snuck up behind them.

Veronica herself was shocked at how many she'd managed to pass, and so responded to Ron's query with a mere shrug of her shoulders. The only two that she failed were arithmancy and history of magic - both of which bored her to sleep most of the time anyway and so she was in a fairly good mood the rest of the day.

 **oOo**

On the morning of July 31st, Veronica was buzzing with excitement as she woke up. She grabbed Harry's present from under the bed and quietly ran to Ron's room which the two boys shared, te floor below the guest room she was placed in.

Entering the room, tiptoeing as the blinds were closed and she could still hear Ron snoring in his bed.

Harry jolted awake as she nudged his shoulder and gasped dramatically while frantically looking around until he notices her standing above him. She greets him softly, before leaning down and pecking him on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday" she whispers in his ear, and as she leans down to give him a hug he pulls her onto the bed beside him, snuggling up to her and smiling drowsily, thinking that it is already the best birthday he's ever had.

Veronica excitedly pulls him to sit up and hands him his present, that she had wrapped neatly with red paper and a golden ribbon tied in a bow.

She watches as Harry slowly unwraps his present, impatient as she excitedly waits for his reaction.

Waiting on top of the gift as he opens the box is a picture that she took of the pair of them back in the Room of Requirement last year. It was a few sessions before they got caught by Umbridge and shortly after they realised their feelings for each other.

In the picture, Veronica was leaning over towards Harry who was unprepared for the camera and as he glanced up in shock, a smirk grew on his face as he and Veronica turn to face each other, staring into the other's eyes. Then the scene would repeat, over and over, replaying a moment where both the teens were truly happy, surrounded by friends in a safe space with nothing to worry about.

The photograph alone made Harry grin as he remembered that day, he carefully placed it on the bedside table, and looking back in the box he found a small wand maintenance kit.

Veronica looked at his face to watch his reaction "I remember you complaining about the state of your wand, thought it would be grand to spruce it up a little. It's not a lot but I wanted to get you something." she explains nervously.

He hugged her warmly, happy that she was there with him and he could spend his birthday at the Burrow. "It's perfect, thank you," he said before kissing her, pecking her all over the face causing her to giggle, before finally placing his lips on hers.

They were interrupted shortly after by a pillow hitting them where their lips were connected. Looking towards Ron, who was cringing in the corner of the room on his bed, he sighed "I'll let it pass just this once, Happy Birthday bro" nodding at the two before the three of them went downstairs for breakfast.

 **oOo**


	36. Chapter 35

**oOo**

It was a dark but expensive looking room, with a long table lined with people, dressed in similar dark colours. Crawling across the table was an extremely large and terrifying snake, making others flinch if it got too close to them, travelling to the head of the table.

At the head of the table was a pale, slimy snake-like figure with slitted black eyes that glanced around the room, drifting over Veronica who stood frozen in her shoes at the edge of the room, and landing on a familiar looking figure who, like Veronica, was noticeably afraid of the people in the room.

Draco Malfoy was the only one stood up, with the eyes of almost everyone in the room on him, everyone except a woman with pale blonde hair who was staring adamantly at the dark wooden tabletop, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Very little words were spoken, making Veronica think this meeting had been planned ahead and everyone here knew what was going to happen, except for her.

Voldemort stood from the grand chair walking with a slow cold gracefulness, his long black robe brushing the ground as he crept over to the blonde boy, who was visibly trying to contain his shivers.

Before she could witness what was about to go down, she suddenly awoke with a fright. Trembling at the multiple different scenarios playing in her mind over what could have happened to the Slytherin boy, each of them scarier than the other. As much as the boy tormented her and her friends over the years, she didn't wish what she'd just seen onto anyone.

She drifted back to sleep eventually, but her mind didn't stray from the events from before and nightmares followed of her being trapped in his very position, being tortured, exploited and murdered.

 **oOo**

When their book lists arrived near the end of summer, the Weasleys decided that while they were visiting Diagon Alley, it would be a good chance to visit the twins at their shop.

Hagrid arrived to take them, as extra security for the group of students, and Bill had retrieved Harry's money from the Potter vault as, apparently, Gringotts had piled on the defence, after that they soon left.

Diagon Alley was completely different from the upbeat, lively street that Veronica remembers. Many of the shops were closed, the windows boarded up. The road and gutters were littered with rubbish, old newspapers and ripped rags and as they walked down the Alley their footsteps were one of the only things making a sound.

They stepped into Madame Malkin's shop with full intentions of buying new robes when they saw Malfoy standing on the fitting platform with his mother off to the side browsing the shelves. Veronica couldn't help but look at the boy's face, which had gotten alarmingly slimmer and more gaunt, making the dark circles under his eyes stand out even more among his impeccable dress sense.

Madame Malkin was in the process of altering the robes that the boy was wearing, fixing the hem of his left sleeve, when he flinched his whole arm away, refusing to stand still despite the woman telling him to so she can do her job.

He noticed them as soon as they walked in, turning his nose up at the group. "Mother, if you're wondering what that smell is, a Mudblood just walked in," he claimed, attracting the woman's attention as she turned to observe the scene that is now taking place, Veronica recognising her from the dream.

The Malfoys exchanged a few more choice words with Harry and the Weasleys before Draco threw off the robe Madame Malkin was still trying to mend, and it crumpled to the floor as he stormed out, his mother deciding they must visit a different shop for his robes.

 **oOo**

The only shop that seemed to be doing well down Diagon Alley, was the new fluorescent joke shop run by Fred and George, standing out among the dirty run-down buildings surrounding it. Bustling with students and other young people who had bright enthusiastic faces as they wandered around browsing or buying various items the twins had spent years inventing.

The group were greeted by the owners themselves, who had large grins on their faces, as always, and offered to give them a tour of their shop. Veronica could tell just by listening to them that they were immensely happy and proud of their creation as they took them around, showing off their best sellers.

Veronica was standing with the girls, Ginny and Hermione, as the twins had dragged Harry away, claiming they had something else to show him.

The area they were currently in was a bright pink, filled with purple mist as various devices pumped sweet smelling bubbles around them. Ginny was perusing the shelves, Hermione standing with Veronica, neither of the girls really looking at the items for sale.

Hermione was discussing potential careers and underlying subject requirements with Veronica, mainly consisting of Veronica listening as the Gryffindor listed her many possible choices, piping up every now and then to voice her approval.

Fred appeared suddenly behind them, his playful voice interrupting their conversation as he addressed the girls. "Love potions, eh? From what I've heard Little Sister you don't need much help with that", he spoke to Ginny only partly teasing her, as his role of the older brother came into play as they spoke about the girl's new boyfriend, Dean Thomas.

Harry had also wandered up to them but wasn't really listening to the conversation, grabbing hold of Veronica's hand to get her attention and smiling at her when he did.

"The same with you two, huh?" said George, appearing behind the couple, "I don't know whether to throw up or cheer honestly" he teased, smirking at their conjoined hands. "Well, it's about time I'd say" Fred joined in, making the two teens blush even more.

"How about we give you two a little something to spruce up those romantic situations" the twins began to gesture to the more adult range, hidden on the higher shelves, but before they could point towards anything specific, Harry began to drag Veronica away, telling the boys to sod off.

The laughter they left behind echoed around the shop, Veronica's face as red as a tomato, Harry's in a similar state.

As Harry began to apologise for the twins behaviour, embarrassed at the suggestive comments made towards them, Ron and Hermione wandered over and Ron quickly caught their attention. "Is it just me or do Malfoy and Mummy look like people who don't want to be followed?"

 **oOo**

How they ended up on the roof of an abandoned building of Knockturn Alley, spying on the Malfoy's walking around Borgin and Burkes, Veronica doesn't know but there she was, holding on to the slanted slates for dear life.

The Golden Trio were clearly more intrigued by the abnormal behaviour of the Slytherin than she was, as they watched with beady eyes as Malfoy seemed to be admiring a large cabinet in the corner of the store. The shop was quite busy, as a large group of cloaked figures joined in the conversation Draco was having with the owner.

Harry retrieved the Extendable Ears from his pocket, catching the end of the talk, Malfoy threatening Borgin in order to retrieve information on how to repair something, their view was partially blocked not letting them catch a glimpse of the object.

The group soon left the store, and the Golden Trio had come up with a plan, sending Hermione in to talk to Borgin hoping to find out what it was that Draco thought was precious enough to reserve, even threatening them with Greyback over it.

Once they realised the information wasn't going to be just given away, they quickly returned to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, where they greeted by Mrs Weasley and taken back to the Burrow, Harry's mind racing over what he'd witnessed.

 **oOo**


	37. Chapter 36

**oOo**

The rest of the summer, Harry hadn't left what they'd seen alone, coming up with multiple different ideas over why Malfoy was there, all of them leading to the conclusion that he'd been made a Death Eater. He ignored all scepticism the others had and believed his idea to be true.

Combining that with what Veronica had seen in her dream, she herself was curious and suspicious over the Malfoy heir, but chose not to voice her feelings just yet after seeing the reaction Harry had received, not only from their friends but from the adults and other members of the Order that visited the Burrow.

 **oOo**

It was finally time to return to Hogwarts and everyone was ready and packed. That morning the ministry had surprised them by sending official company cars and Aurors to escort them to the station.

After a comfortable journey to the station, Veronica was in a pleasant mood when she settled into a compartment with Harry, Neville, Luna and Ginny after Ron and Hermione took off to the prefects' compartment, just like the previous year. Also like last year, Harry was getting a lot of attention from other students but this time for many different reasons.

Veronica originally didn't know how she felt about the girls both older and younger than her stopping to stare at Harry when they walked past, but after a Gryffindor had actually asked Harry to join her in another compartment, she realised she definitely wasn't okay with it.

It was shocking to everyone, including herself, as she rarely got angry, but the glares that she gave towards the admirers gave them the clear message that the 'Chosen One' was taken.

Her behaviour was amusing Harry greatly, and the boy couldn't help himself but give her a peck on the cheek as even though the Hufflepuff was trying to scare people away, she looked nothing but adorable to him.

"You guys are the cutest!", girly screeching filled the compartment and Veronica glanced over from where she was looking at Harry and noticed Hannah standing there squealing, Ernie hovering in the corridor. It was attracting even more unwanted attention and so with a quick goodbye to the others, she dragged Hannah into another compartment.

She greeted both Hannah and Ernie with warm hugs and asked about their summers, but the conversation soon went back to the Boy Who Lived when she told them she spent her summer with him at the Weasley's house.

Hannah asked her so many questions and Veronica could barely keep up with them. She took this opportunity to ask her friends about something that had been on her mind all summer.

"I don't even know if Harry and I are official, we never spoke about it" she stressed, looking at them desperately as if they had all the answers.

Ernie spoke up then, using his brains and logic as always, "Well, do you _want_ to be official?" he asks. The answer was an obvious yes and once she'd told him that he shrugged his hands in the air, "then there's your answer".

She was still staring at them with confused eyes, and so Hannah decided to spell it out to her "just tell him, it's not like he's going to reject you or anything, you two are already being quite public about it". Yet Veronica was still nervous, having never felt this way about a boy before she wasn't good at talking about her feelings.

They changed the subject after that, and she spent quite a lot of the trip catching up with her housemates forgetting how relaxing and easy their conversations could be, guilt filling her as she realised she'd neglected them over the summer, too caught up with the others.

Eventually, she had to return to her compartment to change into her uniform, only to realise that Luna was the only one still sitting there. The girl told her that the others had been invited to some sort of meeting with the new professor and had yet to return, so she sat with her and waited for them to come back.

Neville and Ginny walked in, followed by Ron and Hermione, but Harry was not following them. Apparently, he told Neville he had something else to do before returning and had left without any other explanation, making the girl fairly suspicious.

The group told her that Slughorn seemed to be asking for the students that have important connections with the Wizarding World, or had the potential to be important later. She was weirded out by this man's need to 'collect' people, which Harry had told her about after the night he met the professor.

This reminded her that Harry still wasn't back from doing whatever it was he said he was doing and she was starting to get worried, but barely had the time to consider looking for him before they arrived at Hogsmeade. So, with small persuasion from the others, she followed her friends to a carriage and noticed grimly that she could now see the boney Thestrals pulling them, leaving a sour taste in her mouth as they pulled away from the station.

 **oOo**

It was almost midway through the feast before she saw Harry, by that point, she was so jittery that she was moments away from leaving to search for the boy.

She wasn't comforted with the sight of him as she thought she would, however, as he walked into the Great Hall with a rag held up to his nose, blood covering half his face and dripped down his Gryffindor robes.

He made eye contact with her across the room once he was sat next to Ron and seeing her questioning glance, gave her a nod to let her know he was alright and gave a dismissive wave, making Veronica roll her eyes in annoyance at the boy's nonchalance.

Waiting impatiently through Dumbledore's speech, only slightly shocked when the announcement came that Snape was the new DADA teacher and Slughorn was to teach Potions, she tried to chase after the Golden Trio as soon as they were dismissed to get answers.

Harry informed her and Ron of the conversation he overheard in the Slytherin compartment, and she admits to the boys that it does sound suspicious that Draco believed he wouldn't be returning next year, but Ron still truck down Harry's ideas.

After saying goodnight, which she decided to make as short as possible and refusing Harry when he leant in to kiss her due to the eyes of the surrounding students on them, she made her way to bed.

For the first time that day Veronica only felt truly comfortable once she was under the covers and the lights were dimmed because, even when she wasn't next to Harry, she got stared at from numerous people throughout the day, some of the girls giving her dirty looks despite her not knowing what she'd done wrong.

 **oOo**


	38. Chapter 37

**oOo**

The next morning, Veronica sat with Ernie and Hannah for breakfast, waiting for her new timetable from Professor Sprout.

Unfortunately, she was unable to carry on with Transfiguration despite her interest in the subject, but eventually, she managed to decide on Astronomy, DADA, Divination and Herbology.

Once she got her timetable, she visited the Gryffindor table to compare schedules. Veronica was happy to find out that Harry was in her DADA and Herbology classes, along with Ron, so she could sit with them for the first time.

Hermione walked up to them then, with a frisbee in her hands which she'd just confiscated from a second-year student. Ron took it from her, claiming with excitement that he'd always wanted a Fanged Frisbee causing Hermione to stare at him in frustration and disbelief before shaking her head and looking away.

Veronica noticed as the girl turned away she was hiding the smile that was appearing on her face. She was suspicious about Hermione's feelings towards Ron and made a promise to herself that she'd talk to the girl when they had some time alone.

It also seemed it wouldn't be as simple as she first thought as giggling from further down the table caught her attention, and she noticed Lavender Brown - a girl also in their year who was in the DA and a passionate Divination student - staring at their ginger-haired friend.

 **oOo**

They arrived in the DADA classroom, the atmosphere significantly opposed to anything that it had previously felt like. Sure last year when Umbridge took over it had a feeling of despair and reluctance, but this was completely different.

All the windows were blocked by heavy wooden industrial shutters, clothing the room in a dark shadow, darkening the mood of students as soon as they walk through the door. This mood worsened once you took notice of the pictures that were framed around the room; images of torture and pain constantly looking down on them.

Veronica was unsettled by the classroom setting, stepping slightly closer to Harry warily as they found a seat near the back of the room. This didn't last long as Snape got straight into the practical aspect of the lesson, ordering them to stand up and practice non-verbal disarming charms.

It was definitely a challenge as Snape hadn't properly explained how to complete the task successfully and Veronica was developing a headache at the strain she was putting on her head and her magic.

Most of the students were struggling and a few had taken to mumbling the spell under their breath in the hopes of getting results.

It all escalates after Snape saw the problems people were having and called Harry to demonstrate. Harry, of course, was unable to protect himself non-verbally yet and so in the heat of the moment yelled out a shield charm - not wanting Snape to get the upper hand.

"Do you remember me telling you we were practising _non-verbal_ spells, Potter?" he snapped angrily after Harry's spell sent Snape back into the desk behind him.

"Yes," said Harry shortly in response.

"Yes, _sir_ "

"There's no need to call me _sir_ , Professor," the boy quips back, with a sense of mockery in his voice.

Veronica tried to contain her giggle at that, not expecting Harry to address Snape in that tone, even though she knew how they disliked each other. She wasn't successful but luckily her laughter was drowned out on the scoffs and mutters of the other people surrounding her, also watching the events play out.

Snape, obviously embarrassed and furious because of it, gave Harry detention before dismissing the class shortly after.

Grabbing their bags, the students were happy to leave the class, especially a few minutes early, thanks to Harry.

Veronica had a free period next and because she had spare time, decided to walk the Trio to their next lesson, Potions, after slight persuasion from Harry tugging her along the corridor pouting cutely.

 **oOo**

They were stood outside the Potions classroom in the Dungeons, Harry leaning against the wall, arms casually wrapped around Veronica's waist, her back against his chest, as they converse with Ron and Hermione who were stood next to them.

Slughorn came out of the room to greet his students and escort them inside, making her pull away from Harry, picking her bag off the floor ready to walk away.

"Harry, m'boy! Who is this young lady then?" the deep reverbirating voice of Slughorn echoed in the corridor as he stepped closer to the couple, his eyes staying on Veronica. The rest of the students continuing inside the classroom behind them.

"Veronica Green, sir," she said politely, holding eye contact with him as he excitedly holds his hand out to shake hers. "Oh hoho, you must be the daughter of Jonathan Green and Abigail Newton! It's an honour to have you in my class this year," he gestures towards the doorway.

"Oh, unfortunately, sir I only got an Acceptable in my OWL," she informs him, finding his continuous persistent behaviour a little disturbing and was silently glad she could leave shortly.

He tugs her closer, still with a firm grip on her hand, "Well that's a pass is it not? You're welcome to join us ." The suggestion wasn't phrased in a way where she felt she was allowed to refuse and considering she had no other lesson at this time, Veronica followed him into the room after he let go, Harry following behind.

 **oOo**

Hermione was appalled that Harry had followed different instructions than her during that lesson, leading to him winning the challenge Slughorn had set them. Harry tucked the small bottle of Felix Felicis into his pocket and shrugged in response.

"It was written in the book Hermione, he technically wasn't doing anything wrong, clearly as he was the only one to successfully make the potion," Veronica tried to negotiate, not wanting the two friends to start an argument over what seemed to be a simple misunderstanding.

Ginny overheard Veronica say this as they settled in the Great Hall for dinner that evening and immediately began to panic, probably not liking the idea of following written instructions, due to what happened to her in her first year.

Harry tried to calm the two Gryffindor girls down, like Veronica he saw nothing wrong with the book and the sound of the ' _Half-Blood Prince_ ' even intrigued him greatly.

A first-year interrupted their discussion then, handing Harry a small piece of parchment that has been tied into a scroll. He later told Veronica, Ron and Hermione that it was information from Dumbledore about their first private lesson, and was also excited to find out that he missed Snape's detention because of it.

 **oOo**

Hermione continued to pester Harry about his Potions textbook the rest of the week, convinced that whatever the 'Half-Blood Prince' has written in it, wasn't good, but Harry refused to lend her the book knowing she would turn it in if he did.

The evening of Harry's lesson with Dumbledore, Veronica went to bed early, as she no longer had the boy to keep her awake late, as he'd done the other nights that week.

However, she wasn't going to get as nice of a sleep as she had been looking forward to due to the dreams that flashed through her mind the whole night.

She didn't fully understand what was going on, the dream was distorted and cut off at awkward points before coming back in at a different point. From what she saw, a wizard family known as 'The Gaunts' had many issues, one of them being a disregard of muggles; attacking and dismissing them as lesser.

One muggle, in particular, Tom Riddle, had been put under the influence of a love potion, wooing and impregnating Merope Gaunt before escaping and running away.

Veronica was extremely confused by what she'd seen, unaware that Harry was seeing the same events, but continuously and in the right order. The next morning he informed her, Ron and Hermione on what he'd discovered with Dumbledore, clearing up her dreams slightly, though she was still left without answers on why she was still having these visions.

 **oOo**


	39. Chapter 38

oOo

Over the next few weeks, classes became more tricky with teachers insistent on students practising spells non-verbally.

Even though Veronica was finding the classwork challenging, she had never felt more normal. For once, she didn't have any immediate danger to stress over and could relax slightly and spend more time with her friends. That's how she found herself heading down to the Quidditch Pitch one weekend to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch Team's trials.

The stands were packed and there were members of all houses sitting along the sidelines. She never knew this sport was so popular, especially considering the number of people here who should be supporting other teams.

Apparently, the turnout was a record number as Harry also expressed his surprise at the crowded pitch. People had begun to notice that he had turned up and murmurs and whispers travelled around the stands.

"I didn't realise the Gryffindor team was so famous, you have many fans here," commented Veronica casually, eyeing up the girls who were waving, trying to get Harry's attention.

The boy was oblivious to the attention he was receiving, and he turned to face her and Hermione, who was standing a few paces behind him and shrugged in response, "I've always found Quidditch enjoyable, maybe it's becoming more popular now".

Hermione scoffed at the boy's fickle behaviour, " it's not Quidditch that's popular Harry, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly you've never been more fanciable!' she exclaims. Harry looked at her in disbelief, Ron overhearing her say this developed a defensive nature.

Veronica nodded towards Harry "I agree," her quiet voice breaking him out of his staring match with Hermione. "It doesn't hurt that you've grown a foot over the summer" the Hufflepuff continued, raking her gaze up and down his figure.

The boy flushed but a happy grin appeared in his face at her obvious approval of his body and looks. He pecked her on the cheek in response, both of them tuning out Ron's complaining as the ginger claims that he's "also tall".

The two girls walked towards the stands so that the tryouts could officially begin, sitting with Hannah who had waved them over to desperately save her from the herd of girls giggling about Harry. The group shut up when they saw them coming, eyeing up Veronica as she sat next to Hannah to watch the trials, and they stayed quiet the entire time.

oOo

After the tryouts had finished, the Golden Trio wanted to visit Hagrid, the half-giant had been ignoring them because he was upset they didn't take his class. Veronica had some homework she wanted to catch up on in the Library and so wished them good luck and took off.

She was sitting in the Library trying to go over her Potions essay, a challenge to say the least, but her mind was still trying to process Hermione using a Confundus Charm on McGlaggen during the tryouts in order for Ron to get the Keeper position. The girl had it bad that was for sure, the Gryffindor wouldn't break school and magical laws for anybody.

A cough drew her out of her thoughts. She rose her head from where it was staring at her pages and noticed a girl she'd never seen before had taken the seat opposite her. The girl was sitting straight-backed and confident, a couple of other girls peeking out at them from behind a bookshelf.

"Uh, hello?" said Veronica, unable to pinpoint why the girl had sat with her. "Hi are you Veronica Green?" she questioned, and following the answering nod, her eyes lit up with a greedy selfish ambition.

"So are you really dating Harry Potter? Or is the relationship fake?" she demands, shocking the Hufflepuff at the forward tone of the questions.

"Why would it be fake?" Veronica was extremely confused as to why the girl even wanted to know, the girls behind the bookshelves leaning in to listen to her answers.

"Y'know to get attention, because now that he's all famous you suddenly want to be around him? What's your issue?" the girl's voice was getting increasingly loud and upfront, as if she had a reason to be angry at Veronica.

The Hufflepuff just sat there, shrinking down in her chair as the girl continued to ridicule and shame her for something she hasn't even done. The girl leant forward to deliver her final blow, dragging the essay forwards, tearing the page, as she got into Veronica's face and whispered threateningly "Just leave him alone".

"No. Why don't _you_ leave _her_ alone!" A voice comes from behind the girl, who went from angry to shock as she noticed Hermione storm over followed by Harry. As soon as the girl saw Harry she started to smile bashfully at him, twirling her hair as giggles came from behind the shelves. The Gryffindors didn't pay attention to that though, the boy too focused on the tears filling up Veronica's eyes.

Harry shook his head at the girl, who was trying to get him to look at her and dragged Veronica away from the Library, leaving Hermione in charge of the girls and the Prefect began to scold them on bullying and offered up detention for what she just witnessed.

The two walked for what felt like forever, Harry took them outside and on a bench in the corner of the courtyard before finally settling down in the seat.

Veronica sat still, eyes following Harry who was pacing in front of her as he gathered his thoughts in his head, trying to voice how he was feeling.

"I-I don't like seeing you upset," he stutters, sighing between his words, "It - frustrates me". The boy seemed to be struggling to get the words out, holding back his feelings so he didn't frighten the girl.

"Harry-" he interrupted her before she could continue talking with the strained and worn-out tone of voice "-no Veronica, listen for a second".

She remained quiet watching him with careful eyes. "I don't want people to treat you like that. Hermione came to get me after she heard what that girl was saying to you" he kneeled down and gripped her hand, making intense eye contact. "I care about you too much to let people get away with that".

After wiping away her tears she whispers softly "I care about you too. A lot. It scares me", Veronica felt vulnerable after admitting that and could barely look at him in nerves.

He cupped her cheek and raised her head to maintain their previous eye contact. "It doesn't have to be scary. It's exciting!" Smiling gently at her, he leaned in "Veronica, will you be my girlfriend, officially?"

Giggling at the goofy grin on his face, although she wasn't much calmer, she nodded enthusiastically "As if that's even a question, of course, I will!"

Harry laughed joyfully before getting serious again quickly, "you'll let me know if they bother you again right? If anyone bothers you?" and relaxed once she nodded, kissing him on the cheek as a natural response.

And with that the couple spent the rest of the day together, Harry letting her know about their talk with Hagrid and Veronica listening and giving him advice on the private lessons with Dumbledore. They were cuddled in each other's arms in the Gryffindor common room by the fire and finally drifted off to sleep, ignoring the whispers and gossip from around them.

oOo


	40. Chapter 39

**oOo**

She was excited to be going to Hogsmeade after a long month of difficult work at Hogwarts. Early that morning Veronica found herself waiting outside in the courtyard for the Golden Trio, talking to Ernie while she waited.

The two Hufflepuffs stood against the wall watching as Filch religiously scanned each student leaving the grounds. Ernie turned to her and whispered sarcastically "Why would people be sneaking things out, surely he should just scan them once they return?". Veronica laughed in response.

Finally, she noticed the Golden Trio walking towards them, Hermione seemed to be scolding Harry as he and Ron speed up their steps to get away from her quicker.

Harry took her hand and dragged her with them. "What have you done now?" she questions, smiling slightly at the guilty look on the boy's face. Ron quickly filled her in on the events of that morning. Harry was reading the Prince's book again and cast a spell which levitated Ron by his ankles. Hermione was fuming, arguing that even though Ron wasn't hurt, it could've been a lot worse.

Veronica was sure that part of the reason Hermione was so angry wasn't that of Harry reading the Prince's book, but because Harry was now the best in their Potions class overshadowing her, and Ron was supporting him.

They passed by Filch with little suspicion from the man, although he did a thorough search nevertheless staring at them with his beady eyes.

While on the carriage into town, Veronica began to feel a splitting headache cut through her, banging on her skull painfully. She gripped Harry's hand harder than before, attracting his attention as he watched her grit her teeth.

Flashed passed through her mind of a girl screaming and hovering in the air before collapsing to the ground seizuring.

She furrowed her brow, trying to concentrate on where she'd seen the girl before when more images flooded in of the same girl coming out of the toilets of the Three Broomsticks holding a tightly wrapped brown package.

Harry's voice drove her from the visions, asking her if she was alright. Veronica was barely listening to him as he whispered in her ear keeping his concern low-key from the others. She nodded to his question, the headache slowly diminishing the more she focused on his breathing next to her and the warmth she felt from his hand on hers.

Smiling at his concern, she tried to ignore the pull she felt towards the pub as they pulled into Hogsmeade, but the images wouldn't leave her mind.

Luckily for her, Harry quickly asked if they could get a drink, as he saw Slughorn enter the Three Broomsticks moments ago. Apparently, Dumbledore wants Harry to get closer to the Potions Master, develop a relationship for future use, which Veronica must admit angered her as she got the impression that their Headmaster was taking advantage of Harry's status for his own use.

 **oOo**

By the time they'd gotten their drinks and found a table to sit at, Veronica had almost forgotten about what she'd seen back in the carriages.

Ron had turned sour all of a sudden, throwing dirty looks over her and Harry's shoulder towards Ginny and Dean who seemed to be enjoying their little date in the corner of the room.

"Honestly Ron if she looked over here and saw you and me snogging would you expect her to leave?!" Hermione exclaimed, reminding Veronica of the talk she had to have with the Gryffindor over her feelings for their ginger friend.

Veronica and Harry exchange smirks as the table fell into an awkward silence, both Hermione and Ron blushing and avoiding eye contact with each other as the mental image of them snogging entered their minds.

Slughorn stumbled over to their table at this point, distracting the group from the teenage angst taking place around them.

As Harry stood to greet the older man, Veronica noticed from the corner of her eye the door to the women's toilets opening and, when she glanced over, saw the same girl from her previous thoughts enter.

After politely greeting Slughorn, she excused herself, Harry was too invested in his conversation with the professor to ask her where she was going, Hermione and Ron also listening in closely to what the pair were saying.

"Just wait here Leanne, I'll only be a minute", she overheard as she approached the toilets. Straightening up, Veronica only had to ponder what she should do for a few seconds before entering in the room after the girl, hoping to find out what it is that she'd seen earlier.

The girl was standing with her back to the entrance when Veronica walked in, the rest of the room appears empty.

"Hey." After a moment of silence, she decided to start the conversation, catching the girl as she turns around. Now she recognised her as Katie Bell, a Gryffindor Chaser only a year older than her, but Katie's eyes were glazed over, barely recognising Veronica.

"Is everything alright Katie?" she asked as the older girl tried to get past her without saying a word. "I have to go now" Katie murmured, repeating the words to her friend Leanne after pushing Veronica out of the way and exiting the toilets.

Sharing a worried and concerned glance with Leanne, Veronica followed after them as the girl tried to talk some sense into Katie, who wasn't paying attention to them.

Leanne finally managed to step in Katie's way once they were outside, the Hufflepuff was shivering as her coat was still inside, but barely felt it as she stared at the exchange worriedly.

"What is in that package, Katie? Please answer me!?" Leanne was getting desperate, her voice raising in despair as her friend stared at her with blank eyes, "I need to give this to Dumbledore now".

As Katie stepped around the girls clutching the wet package against her chest, Veronica hurriedly stepped in her way, grabbing her arm to try and pull her back. However, as she pulled the girl towards her, the package loosened in her grip and ripped apart easily due to the snow making the brown paper soggy.

A necklace flew from the paper but as that happened Veronica heard Harry call her name from behind them. She glanced around to face the Golden Trio who had followed her outside without her noticing.

She suddenly heard a familiar gut-wrenching scream come from Leanne and she quickly turned back, realising she was too late to stop the inevitable.

Katie was projected into the air, a possessive sound coming out of her mouth as she seemed to hover in the thin air for a while before hitting the ground hard as if she was being pulled down.

Horrified, Veronica crouched next to Katie, trying to hold her head as she convulsed on the ground. Arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her off of Katie quickly, making sure she was safely away from whatever had caused the girl to levitate in the first place.

The rest of the scene was a blur as Harry placed her coat and scarf around her shivering body, the tears that had rolled down her face were frozen from the cold air but she was too shocked to care at that moment.

Hagrid had appeared, picking Katie up in his arms and carrying her back to the castle. Veronica barely saw Hermione wrap the necklace and package in a scarf before the group was following Hagrid to the castle. Harry's arms guiding her way as her vision was too blurred for her to see straight.

 **oOo**

McGonagall met them at the castle gates, allowing them through quickly, much to Filch's dismay.

The next hour or so was filled with questions as Hagrid took Katie to the Hospital Wing and the rest of them sat in McGonagall's office. Leanne was just as shaken up as Veronica was, the two witnessed the event up close, even trying to help Katie originally.

Harry didn't remove his arms from Veronica's shaking body the entire time, pulling her closer to him as she explained, along with Leanne, what they had seen, coming to the conclusion that the girl had been Imperiused.

"It was Malfoy," Harry stated, speaking up for the first time after Leanne had been escorted to the Hospital Wing for some calming draught, Veronica refusing to leave without the others.

She felt sorry for the boy as his response was ridiculed by the professors, and Ron and Hermione glanced at each other not saying a word. However, Harry hadn't explained his reasoning very well, as by saying that he just knew without any context Veronica thought she wouldn't believe him either if she hadn't been there to see his theory develop over the summer.

They were dismissed but Harry carried on theorising as he took her to receive the Calming Draught from Madame Pomfrey, Veronica nodded along without listening to him as she'd heard it all multiple times before.

 **oOo**


	41. Chapter 40

**oOo**

Before Herbology one morning, Harry dragged Veronica to the side of the Entrance Hall, letting the others walk ahead of them.

She glanced at him curiously, "what's going on Harry?" she asks, his concerned shuffling making her quite concerned. He kept his eyes on the floor, staring at his feet and playing with his fingers until she grabbed his hands and tilted his chin up so they can make eye contact.

"Harry, come on. You can tell me?" giving him a reassuring smile, a smile that can't help but appear every time she looks into his green eyes. He smiles back in response, but the nervous look didn't fade.

"I was just wondering, um.." he was interrupted from the rambling as Seamus and Dean walk past patting him on the shoulder as a friendly greeting.

His eyes watch them walk away, trying to distract himself and prevent the words from coming out, but Veronica wasn't letting him get away so easily. So as he turned to walk she grabbed his arm and pushed him against the wall.

'What is it, Harry?! Tell me!" she demanded as she stepped closer to him, pressing herself against him and their faces leaned closer together.

"Urm okay," he took a deep breath, "Slughorn's having a Christmas party thing and um we can bring dates. So... I was just wondering if, um, you'd maybe want to, not that you have to but..." she stopped him from the stuttering by planting a kiss on his lips, quickly silencing the boy. He didn't seem too bothered by the interruption anyway.

"Is that is? Of course, I'll go with you, Harry. You didn't even have to ask me, we're already together," she chuckled at his nervous stupidity. He smiled embarrassedly back at her before giving her another kiss, turning them so that she was now on the wall.

She placed her hand on his lips as he tried to lean in once again, "As nice as this is my lover boy, we have classes to get to, Herbology to be exact". With that she pushes off of the wall towards the grounds outside, ignoring his groan and grumbling from behind her, the slightly playful yet oddly serious complaining from the boy made her giggle as he chased her all the way to the greenhouses.

 **oOo**

Throughout their Herbology class, Ron was continuously moaning about the Slug Club, which Veronica knew he was bitter about because he wasn't invited and both Hermione and Harry were busy those nights.

It was pretty awkward, to say the least. Especially after Hermione admitted she was going to ask Ron to be her date to the Christmas party. The boy was visibly shocked, yet he wouldn't admit it as his pride seemed to be too big for that. That and his jealousy over the fact Hermione could invite any other boy she wanted.

Veronica and Harry both felt the tension in the air as they exchanged glances, hiding their smirks from the pair sitting opposite them. It was almost painful watching them hide their feelings from each other.

"And they say that _we_ were uncomfortable to watch before we got together," the boy whispered to her, making her laugh as she nodded in agreement before shushing him and turning her attention back to Professor Sprout.

Harry's words did make her wonder what it was like to hang around them last year. She had a major crush on him and everyone seemed to know about it, even before she did. It was embarrassing, especially when Harry had started showing feelings towards Cho and yet she remained starstruck on the boy.

It was a noticeably different scenario from Hermione and Ron's feelings for each other as they were already so close, being best friends for almost 6 years, they must know each other so well. Veronica understood that it's difficult from their perspective as the 'love-hate' relationship they had going on seemed to be hard to get out of.

She just hoped they could realise their feelings for each other before something bad happens that leaves either one or both of them heartbroken.

 **oOo**

There seemed to be an air of tension in the Gryffindor Common Room when Veronica entered looking for Harry one day. Everyone sitting around was silent and didn't even notice her walk in, all their eyes peeled on the argument taking place in the middle of the room.

When she saw the ginger siblings standing opposite each other, she wasn't entirely surprised. Ginny's hand were on her hips as she glared angrily at Ron, who stood with his arms crossed stubbornly, his eyes trained on Dean who seemed to be inching nervously away from the pair slowly.

"Get over yourself, Ron! My love life is none of your business! Just because _you've_ never kissed anyone!" her raised voice echoed around the room, her voice trembling in anger.

This made Ron splutter uncomfortably, "w-what does that mean exactly? I'm sure loads of people haven't been kissed yet!" and he gestured around the room yet still ignored people's eyes.

"Oh come on, you're really that oblivious! Hermione had her first kiss years ago with Krum, and in case you haven't noticed Harry and Veronica are getting quite serious. Maybe you should just grow up!" Harry turned quickly towards Veronica who was still stood by the entrance after Ginny gestured towards her during the outburst.

The boy scurried over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her in front of him, protecting himself from any further outbursts. What a gentleman.

Veronica hated seeing people argue, especially family, and so she decided to intervene before anything worse was mentioned that the two siblings may regret later on.

"Okay guys, break it up. You're arguing over nothing!" she grabbed Ginny's arm but the girl ripped it away violently, giving Ron one last dirty look before storming up the stairs, presumably to her dormitory, and didn't glance back.

Ron didn't know what to do with himself, his face was bright red from holding back his rage and he was trying to contain himself, not very successfully as he turned towards Hermione who was standing there aimlessly. "You kissed Krum, seriously? That bonehead!" he exclaimed shaking angrily.

"Don't turn this onto me, Ronald, you're the one overreacting!" Hermione seemed like she was holding back tears due to her voice wavering as she yelled at him.

"Whatever," Ron grumbled and, like his sister, sent a glare towards the group and then took off upstairs.

The students around them seemed to realise the show was over and the noise rose again as people went back to their own conversations. Hermione went over and sat on the sofa by the fireplace, Harry and Veronica following her and they absorbed themselves in a discussion about anything except the boy that just ran from them.

The situation was getting more and more difficult as Veronica realised more than just their romantic relationship was on the line, their friendship and Ron's family were also in the firing line of the boy's redirected anger and she couldn't find an easy way out.

 **oOo**


	42. Chapter 41

**oOo**

The previous arguments between the Gryffindors seemed to be pushed under the rug as the Quidditch season arrived. Their sense of house pride overcame all other types of feelings they had for each other, and even if it was temporary Veronica was happy to find the team huddled together in the Great Hall before the match.

She sat with the Hufflepuffs that morning, as she wanted Harry to focus on the upcoming match, and as happy as distracting him makes her, she knew that the boy was very serious about the sport. So she let him be in his element while she watched from afar.

Tearing her eyes away from the Gryffindor table, she realised that Ernie and Hannah were staring at her as if waiting for her to answer.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked smiling, hoping she hadn't missed too much of the conversation.

Her two Hufflepuff friends shared a look before turning their gaze back to her. "Obviously you didn't hear what we were saying or you wouldn't be smiling right now," Ernie says bluntly, his judgemental eyes following her gaze, and once seeing the Potter boy he sighed. "Well, at least I know why you weren't listening."

Guilt flooded through her, she didn't want them to think she was abandoning them, they were the first friends she made at this school and wanted to maintain that friendship.

"Really, I'm sorry. It won't happen again, honest," and smiled apologetically. Hannah gave a snort at those words. "Oh please, we know it'll happen again, that's what happens when you're in love."

Veronica's wide eyes stared back at her. The 'l' word wasn't something she was considering, and surely she was too young to feel those sort of emotions.

Hannah had said the words in a teasing manner, clearly not trying to send the girl into a panic, but the 'l' word brought something out of her. Veronica's wide eyes stared back at her. It wasn't something she had ever considered, and surely she was too young to feel those sort of emotions.

"What?! L-love? Haha. Don't be ridiculous Hannah," Veronica stuttered, shaking her head back and forth, staring at her breakfast trying to compose herself.

Hannah and Ernie shared a strange look before staring at the girl once again, disbelief and bemusement in their eyes. "It was a joke Ronnie, but... do you actually-" Veronica stood up suddenly, interrupting Ernie before he could finish his question.

"We don't have time for this guys, the Quidditch match will be starting soon and we need to get good seats," she started to take off towards the entrance of the castle.

Her friends took off after her, hurrying to catch up to the girl's fast pace. "Veronica, you really need to know this. We overheard some younger girls talking and -" Hannah was really starting to annoy her, why couldn't she just drop it?

"Honestly, I don't want to hear it okay?" she raised her voice slightly shocking the two of them enough to make them halt in their steps. Seeing that they were no longer going to follow after her, Veronica turned quickly and jogged down to the pitch, choosing to catch up with Hermione and sit with her instead.

She could feel their eyes on her as she walked away, but she continued to hurry away, feeling as if she was running away from something other than her friends prying eyes.

 **oOo**

Of course, Gryffindor won as usual. Veronica spent the entire match cheering and screaming, her previous feelings of doubt and weariness disappeared as the prideful singing and laughing from the crowd brightened her mood drastically.

This is how she found herself spinning in Harry's arms as the boy picked her up out of complete joy and happiness.

"Congratulations you!" she exclaims, giggling into his neck. He finally put her down and peppered kisses all over her face. The massive grin on his face was contagious and she was smiling back at him, happy that he was enjoying himself.

Hermione wandered towards them once she saw they were finished with their celebrations. "You shouldn't be this proud of him Veronica, not when you realise what he's done," she glanced at him with disappointment, shaking her head. "You can't celebrate a cheat," and narrowed her eyes at the boy's grin.

Veronica stared at the exchange with a cautious look on her face, sending Harry a questioning glance as she stepped back out of his arms.

"What have you done now?" she asks dejectedly, hoping they could've had at least one peaceful night.

Harry sighed, rolling his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small golden bottle filled to the brim with a pearlescent liquid that Veronica recognised as the Felix Felicis he won in Potions a few classes ago. He shook the bottle in Hermione's face, gesturing to the cork that was still sealed on top of the bottle.

"You didn't put it in. You only made Ron _think_ you did" the Gryffindor girl stared at the bottle with a relieved and shocked look.

The Hufflepuff was starting to piece together what this 'debate' was about and was relieved to know Harry hadn't given Ron the potion, as that was incredible illegal in all types of sport. "I knew Ron could do it! He just needed to believe in himself, and you did that Harry," the boy nodded back at her, bringing her in close again.

Loud cheering attracted their attention then as they all turned to look at the crowd. Standing at the head of the room was Ron, and he had his arms tightly wrapped around Lavender Brown who had her lips enveloped in his.

Veronica winced at this display, the two looked as if they were swallowing each other. Helga, she hoped her and Harry weren't that disgusting when they kissed.

Hermione pushed passed her then, running out of the room as quick as possible, a sniffling sound heard before the girl disappeared. Veronica and Harry shared a worried glance.

"I'm going after her, stay here. I'll be back okay?" she informed him before hurrying after the Gryffindor, not wanting to lose her in the long twisting corridors of the top floors that she wasn't too familiar with.

She caught Hermione going into an abandoned stairwell and followed, seeing her resting against the wall, crying silently into her hands. Veronica walked over and sat down next to her quietly, placing her hand on her shoulder, alerting the girl of her presence.

"Is this what it felt like? When you saw Harry with Cho?" sniffles filled the room. Pity grew inside of her as she nodded in response. She knew how the girl was feeling, seeing someone you like with another is... challenging.

"Does it get easier?" Veronica had never heard Hermione sound this weak before and she seemed to be begging the girl, pleading for it to get easier. It was so sad, hearing this once strong and powerful witch cave into herself because of a boy. She wasn't going to let that happen.

The door opened suddenly and Ron and Lavender walked in, giggling and hanging off of each other's arm.

Hermione stood all of a sudden, staring at them with disdain in her eyes. Ron looked at her confused, his eyes glazed over from the effect of the drinks being passed around back in the common room.

Not wanting a confrontation and knowing Hermione wasn't in her right mind, Veronica took the girls arm and led her out of the room, sending Ron a warning look before they left. She guided them to the Room of Requirement, knowing the party was far from over, and they lay on some sofas for the rest of the night, eventually drifting off to sleep.

 **oOo**


	43. Chapter 42

**oOo**

As the Christmas party approached, Veronica found Harry under the admiring eyes of the girls at Hogwarts. Wherever they went, he was stared at and girls of all ages seemed to be coming up to him - usually completely ignoring her or glaring at her.

She wasn't too thrilled either to hear from Hermione that some girls had been planning on slipping her boyfriend a love potion so that he could invite them to Slughorn's Christmas Party.

Harry himself, although quite flattered about the attention, was becoming more and more worried over the hate Veronica was receiving from others. Early on in December, she got an anonymous parcel delivered to her in the Great Hall which contained some sort of potion that burst out in puffs over the person who opened it first.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Ernie had suspected something was wrong with the package before it was opened and managed to push it out of Veronica's reach before the potion could hit her face. In doing so, it got on her hands and quickly after contact they started to burn and bubble away, meaning she spent that day in the Hospital Wing getting fixed up.

The event was kept quiet while it happened, but word quickly got around that the girl was being targeted just because she was going out with Harry. Luckily, the plans of the admirers had backfired as Harry started spending even more time with Veronica to try to keep her safe.

He even made her sleep in the Gryffindor Dorms some nights when he got the chance to convince her. Veronica and the other Gryffindor boys saw it as a lie to get her to sleep with him but they didn't say anything.

The boys' dormitories were actually quite peaceful most of the time, Ron and Dean both busy with their respective girlfriends and so were never found in their room.

Veronica and Harry would spend time just cuddled up in his bed, chatting and relaxing. They didn't spend as much time here as they would've liked to, however, as Veronica now saw it as her duty to accompany Hermione to the library every now and then, knowing that the girl could use some friendly company more than ever right now.

While Hermione was drowning her sorrows in books and papers, everyone else was getting into the holiday spirit. Hannah was particularly joyous lately as Neville had asked her to Slughorn's Party, the girl literally jumping around the dorm when she told Veronica how it happened.

Overall, it has been quite an interesting year for Veronica so far, and yet the simplest, more normal year she's had since she met Harry.

This is one of the reasons she found herself so sceptical and cautious, the air seemed to be flickering with energy - and she got the feeling they were in the calm before the storm.

 **oOo**

Veronica, Hannah and Hermione decided to get dressed for the Christmas Party together, as they were all going with Gryffindor boys it seemed appropriate to dress in Hermione's dorm and meet up with their dates in the Common Room.

She stood in front of the mirror staring at the red satin dress she had picked out. The top half was fitted to her body, outlining her thin womanly frame and the bottom flared out to just above her knees. Veronica pulled at the sleeves grazing her wrists nervously while waiting for the other two to finish getting ready.

Hannah came up from behind her, placing her hands on Veronica's exposed shoulders and making eye contact with the girl in the reflection. "He's going to love it, don't worry," she reassures her friend, causing a smile to appear on Veronica's face as she thinks of Harry.

They made their way down the stairs, the girl stepping slowly, watching her feet cautiously due to the uncomfortable heels Hannah had let her borrow. She knew the shoes would cause her embarrassment and awkward situations throughout the evening.

Once she was safely on the ground, Veronica looked up and saw Harry staring at her with a wide smile on his face. He walked over and offered his hand with a strangely mesmerised look in his eyes that she's never seen from him before. "You look stunning," he speaks softly, capturing her in a bubble of the two of them, the others around them disappearing as she looks into his emerald eyes.

 **oOo**

"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn bounded over to the couple as soon as they stepped into the large decorated room. He dragged them through the crowds of influential people, introducing Harry and talking about his success in life.

Time passed quickly while this was going on, Veronica being mostly ignored throughout the process. She keeps herself entertained by following Hermione and Cormac around the room with her eyes, the girl avoiding all romantic confrontations the boy was pushing onto her.

As Slughorn became distracted once more by another guest arriving the couple decided to take this opportunity to spend some time alone, and joined the few couples also dancing in the centre of the room. Once again, Veronica found herself lost in Harry's presence, his warm arms wrapped around her waist as they swayed to the soft music.

Harry too was amazed by the girl in his arms, filled with disbelief that she had gone unnoticed by the school for so long. In his eyes, she was one of the most beautiful people he knew, in both appearance and personality.

They cherished this time spent with each other and the fact that they could communicate this feeling just through their facial expressions and eye contact really emphasised their connection.

Hermione bustled past them suddenly, disappearing behind a curtain at the edge of the room, peeking out to send a desperate look at the couple.

Veronica chuckled at the girl's behaviour and turned to Harry, who had barely noticed his friend as he was still looking at her with a dazed smile on his face. "You should go to see Hermione over there," she nodded to the curtain, "I need to go to the toilet, but I'll be back as quickly as I can."

Placing a quick kiss on his cheek, she left the room hoping Harry would be able to distract Hermione and improve the girl's evening.

 **oOo**

On her way back from the bathroom, her attention was focused on the throbbing pain in her head - one hand resting tightly on her temple - meaning she didn't hear the confrontation before it was too late.

She turned the corner and two pairs of eyes immediately locked onto her. Professor Snape pulled away from where he was leaning over Malfoy, releasing his grip from the blond boy's arm and swivelled away, storming into the opposite direction from the bustling sounds of the party. Veronica was stood awkwardly at the beginning of the corridor trying to avoid eye contact with the Slytherin.

Malfoy straightened the black suit he was wearing and composed his facial expression to a mute, slightly bored scowl. He moved swiftly down the corridor towards her, causing her hairs to stand up on end, panicking about the confrontation.

However, the boy was also avoiding her gaze and seemed to be swerving out of her way as she began shakily stepping forward to return to the party.

As they reached each other, she stumbled slightly on her heels and her body was suddenly plummeting towards the ground. Out of instinct, and to avoid being knocked over also, Malfoy reached out, gripping her shoulder before it slammed into his.

It was a brief touch and as soon as she was stable he shoved past her and hurried away down the hall, but it caused Veronica to freeze as soon as their skin made contact. Flashed appeared in her mind, but instead of stopping like they usually did - they started to piece together and play out a scene.

She was stood on the Astronomy Tower, and in front of her was Malfoy with his wand raised and Dumbledore with his hands held out in surrender.

"I have to do this. I have to kill you, or he'll kill me," the boy was sobbing hard, his whole body shivering violently. "Draco, I can help you," the elder spoke calmly and knowingly as if he was already aware of what was going to happen.

"You can't help me!" Malfoy yelled back, pulling his left sleeve up and shoving his arm in the headteacher's face, giving Veronica a full view of the black mark on his forearm. She'd never seen a dark mark before but the snake wrapped around a skull was undeniably chilling.

"Veronica?", a voice pulled her away from the scene suddenly, Harry's blurry face appeared, directly in her view and as her vision cleared she noticed the worried expression in his eyes.

Nodding towards him after he asked her if she was alright, she knew this was something she couldn't ignore and needed to tell someone official to get help. She had no idea how to stop this and due to the disastrous scene with Katie, knew she couldn't do it alone.

 **oOo**


	44. Chapter 43

**oOo**

"I'm sorry, Miss Green. Professor Dumbledore is currently away for the holidays and won't return until a week into the next school term," Professor Sprout looked at her with curious eyes, "the train will be leaving soon, you should grab your trunk and head towards the Entrance Hall."

"Professor please, it's urgent!" she pleaded, eyes wild with desperation. It was the morning after Slughorn's Christmas party and Veronica didn't get a wink of sleep the entire night, planning what she was going to say to the headmaster. This all seemed useless now as her head of house was refusing to give her the time of day, despite the begging she previously displayed.

"If it's that important perhaps you should tell someone else as Professor Dumbledore is unavailable. What's bothering you?" Those words made Veronica stop. She didn't want to let everyone know about her vision and decided to keep it between the people who had to know - her and Dumbledore.

After staring at Professor Sprout for a good few empty moments without saying anything, Veronica watched as the woman huffed and walked away.

She slowly began to slump back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, feeling abandoned and empty. Her plan had failed and she was back to square one with no idea of what to do next or who to turn to.

Little did she know that someone was listening to her conversation with Professor Sprout and was now following behind her as she strolled down the corridor.

As she passed by an empty classroom just before reaching the main staircases, darkness engulfed her and she couldn't see a thing as arms wrapped around her and dragged her into the room.

The unknown person slammed her into the ground and she felt the tip of a wand pressing painfully into the side of her neck. Veronica was frozen, too terrified to speak and so all that was heard was the small whimpering sounds escaping her lips.

"Listen here you little _bitch_ \- whatever you think you know, you know _nothing_. Keep your _dirty_ mouth shut or your pathetic group of friends will face the consequences." a deep slimy voice hissed in her head, warm breath creeping over her face and down her neck, making her hair stand on end. The wand was being pushed harder every time the person emphasised their words.

With a final kick to her side, a scuffle of rushed feet drifted away from her, and the loud slam of the classroom door echoed around the room suddenly, making her jump.

Veronica was still unable to see anything, and for what seemed like the next hour she was curled up in a ball on the cold stone floor, shivering and sobbing in distress before the darkness edged away from her vision and the bright daylight flooded back in.

As much as she wished someone would come looking for her, find her on the ground and rush to help her up and assist her into the common room, no one appeared.

For the first time in the last couple of years, she felt truly alone. An empty feeling spread throughout her body and she quickly numbed the cold abandoned void in her mind as she would've done throughout her first few years at Hogwarts.

 **oOo**

The whole journey back on the Hogwarts Express, Veronica was sat quietly, seemingly lost in her empty mind. She curled into Harry's side, closing her eyes to focus on his presence hoping to calm her still racing heart, despite it being hours since the confrontation.

Harry mistakenly assumed she was tired and believed she had fallen asleep with her head resting in the crook of his shoulder and neck due to how still her form was.

She appreciated how the rest of her friends had left her out of the conversation, also noting her presumably resting form, especially after Harry had rested his head on hers while reading his potions textbook.

By the time they had pulled into Kings Cross Station, Veronica had found a peaceful place in her mind and distracted herself with the feeling of Harry rubbing his hand up and down her arm to keep her warm. Overall, she was feeling better than she was earlier on and decided she could live with that for now.

 **oOo**

Christmas at the Burrow was overall very relaxing.

Mrs Weasley greeted Veronica with open arms, embracing her tightly as if she were a true member of the family, something that made the girl smile brightly, despite the terrible day she's been having so far.

The holidays were full of laughter and joy, with various guests from the Order visiting occasionally there was never a boring moment.

Veronica did her best to stay out of any conversations about Malfoy, but couldn't help but overhear that Harry had witnessed Snape's confrontation with the Slytherin during Slughorn's Party. He explained what he heard and it added to the list of information clogging her mind.

She should've known that sleep wasn't going to be an easy task after the experience she'd had the last couple of days at Hogwarts, and it was very difficult indeed. Every night she woke in a pool of sweat, gasping and spluttering as if she'd been underwater when in reality she was only drowning in the nightmares that stemmed from her visions.

It got to the point where she had no clue if what she was witnessing was a vision or a manifestation of her deepest fears. Images of Hermione, Ron and Harry being tortured - screams and sobs filling her ears - haunted her at night and coming back in flashes during the day.

The dreams had taken a toll on her and it was becoming fairly obvious to the household when she would drift off and zone out during almost any conversation, and her pale skin emphasising the dark circles under her eyes didn't help.

This was why, some time near the end of the break, Harry pulled her to the side with a face full of concern.

"Don't lie to me Veronica, you've been different the entire holiday. Seriously now, what's wrong?" His hands rub up and down her arms due to the cold air coming through the cracks in the window next to them.

Just looking into his deep green eyes that stared at her with so much compassion, reminded Veronica of the danger she has put him, and the rest of their friends, in and her emotions became too overwhelming. Before she knew what was happening, tears were rapidly streaming down her face.

Seeing that Veronica definitely wasn't okay, Harry pulled her into his arms and embraced her tightly. He ran his hands through her hair gently, avoiding the knots and tangles from where she tossed and turned at night.

She was sobbing like a baby into his chest and, even though he had no idea what was going on, the comfort Harry was giving her made her realise how important it was that she kept him safe.

"I'm just so worried about what's going to happen to all of us, I've been having such unsettling dreams," she explained once she had calmed down enough to speak.

Harry reached one hand up to wipe the tears from her face, smiling adoringly at the small girl in front of him that cared too much for her own good.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to you while I'm around, and trust me when I say I'm not leaving anytime soon," he whispers while leaning down and pecking her bright red nose. Veronica wasn't sure if it was red from the crying or the blushing that had begun after she noticed the intense look in his eyes.

Throwing her arms around his neck once more, she kissed him passionately, Harry happily returning the favour, before they headed back to the main room joining the final celebrations. Both looking much happier than they did previously.

 **oOo**


	45. Chapter 44

Exams are now over and I'm ready to continue this book - sorry about the large delay :(

oOo

The journey back to Hogwarts was a nerve-wracking one for Veronica. She still had no idea what she was going to do about the supposed 'threat' on the lives of the people she cared about and saw it as a tough decision on if she should continue with her original plan, before she got ambushed, of telling Dumbledore.

Another problem she now faced was the indirect knowledge that someone found out about her odd skill, alarming her greatly, as she believed it was a well-kept secret. It also wasn't comforting to think that the person who now harboured this secret definitely wasn't on her side of this war.

Even though she didn't know exactly who it was, she had her suspicions. The only people who should be worried about what she'd seen were the people involved in the vision, Malfoy, Dumbledore, hell even Snape. Dumbledore obviously didn't threaten her, so it was down to the two most disliked people at Hogwarts currently.

How comforting.

Veronica found herself sitting on a train carriage with Harry and his friends, nervously glancing out into the hallway whenever somebody walked a little too close to the window.

Her grip on Harry's arm was deathly tight, but he either didn't notice or thought she was clenching his arm in response to their current topic of discussion.

"He thought I would do as he said just because he's the Minister of Magic! As if I would care about what anyone in that place wanted from me after how they treated Dumbledore and me last year!" Harry ranted on about Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister, telling the story once again of how Percy had brought him to the Burrow and the man practically begged the boy to cooperate.

Most of them in the carriage had already heard the entire conversation from Harry as soon as the Minister had left with Percy that day but still listened to, and shared the boy's angry remarks as they also recalled the Ministry's reign of terror over Hogwarts the year prior.

The conversation was quick paced and loud, but Veronica was focused on the beat of her heart that seemed to deafen her from any other noise.

As the train pulled into Hogsmeade, a scowling pale face, framed by thinning blond hair walked past their compartment nonchalantly. Veronica's sweaty palms gripped her wand, which was conveniently placed right next to her for quick access, as adrenaline ran through her, desperate to protect her friends.

While she did this, Malfoy glanced through the window and settled his eyes onto hers. His frown dropped and eyes widened, the little amounts of colour left in his face disappeared. The exchange was no more than a second long because as soon as their eyes met, the boy scuttled off quickly.

Her grip loosened around her wand in surprise because, instead of a threatening look, Malfoy had a different expression on his face. He almost looked... scared?

Harry turned towards her, holding his hand out to help her up, and it reminded her that the train had in fact stopped and she was the only one still seated. So she pulled herself up and shook off the confusion of whatever had just happened, focusing on the people around her, the ones that really mattered to her most.

oOo

The nights were longer than the days, not only due to the time of year but also because Veronica was still getting barely any sleep.

Most times, she found herself curled up on the sofas in the Hufflepuff common room either doing school work or reading a book to distract herself from the images running through her mind.

Sometimes, however, Veronica would be sneaking back in after a late night in the Gryffindor dorms, grinning profusely. Harry had become a crucial aspect of her life and even just being with him made her sane.

Her presence was so common that most Gryffindors saw her as one of their own, some even forgetting that she's actually a Hufflepuff until you see her helping out people she doesn't even know.

The Golden Trio has walked into the common room before and discovered Veronica looking around for someone's lost belongings, helping people with their Divination homework (as she seems to be the only one who understood the daft subject) or even just conversing with the people around her as she patiently waits for them to arrive.

No one would guess that a girl who always appeared so happy and cheerful on the outside was actually a ball of anxiety and terror when left alone.

It was very late at night, or maybe early in the morning, when Veronica was sneaking out of the Fat Lady's portrait. The seventh floor was deadly silent, as it should've been, the corridor pitch black and other portraits asleep unwoken by the girl's dainty steps on the stone floor.

Veronica was trying to convince herself that nothing was wrong, her shallow breaths highlighting the nerves she was feeling at the prospect of what could be hidden in the shadows around her. Not even Harry's invisibility cloak, which he'd insisted she wore, could keep her calm.

She had almost reached the stairs and was just slowly turning the final corner, when a body slammed into her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Glancing up from her fallen position on the floor, she found Draco Malfoy staring at her in disbelief, nervously looking behind him every so often. The two stared at each other for a while before he spoke up in rapid, harsh tones.

"What do you think you're doing up here?" he demanded but looking torn between pointing his wand at her face or just holding it by his side. "Your common room is nowhere near here, Green!" he stated angrily.

"Neither is yours," Veronica quipped back defensively, refusing to look away from his sharp glare.

The faint sound of footsteps getting closer broke them from their glaring contest, and the two shared a look of alarm. Veronica reached over to the cloak, getting ready to cover herself when she saw Malfoy hadn't moved.

She debated internally for a few seconds before realising that the person was now too close for Malfoy to make it out unseen and so she grabbed his hand, pulled him closer and threw the cloak over the both of them.

He looked down on her in shock, watching as she struggled to cover their feet as the Slytherin was just too tall to share the cloak with.

They clashed eyes again as the inevitable fate of getting caught out hours after curfew crept up on them, but Malfoy had started to move her hurriedly down the hall, his hands gripping the tops of her arms tightly. Just as the person rounded the corner, Veronica was shoved into a doorway that wasn't there before, Malfoy close behind her.

They froze, ears against the door as they heard whoever it was walking straight past them and down the stairs.

After a few minutes when she was sure they wouldn't return she gave a relieved sigh and turned around and took in the sight in front of her. Piles of rubbish and clutter surrounded her, towering over her figure into the seemingly never-ending ceiling.

"The Room of Requirement of course!" she exclaimed looking around, annoyed that she'd forgotten about the prime hiding place of the DA from last year.

It looked significantly different to how she'd remembered it but was too pleased that she hadn't been busted to pay attention to what was actually littered around the room.

Malfoy was stood still, the cloak was long forgotten about after she dropped it at his feet. He was looking at her with a cautious stare, not knowing how to react to the girl twirling in front of him.

She stopped suddenly and glanced at him with a confused look in her eyes. "How did you know about this place, I thought it was well hidden? Still, I'm glad we weren't seen" she rambled, not realising her words make him twitch in annoyance.

"Why did you bother trying to cover me back there?" he interrupted, his voice quiet but recognisable in the silence of the night. She was once again puzzled by his tone, but responded nicely nonetheless, "you were going to get caught," she explained as if it were obvious.

He gave a frustrated sigh," yes but why didn't you let me get caught?" he pointedly stated.

Veronica was hugely perplexed by Malfoy, "did you _want_ to get caught?" she asked, her eyes widening with innocence and question.

"Of course not, I'm not an idiot!" he exclaimed, his harsh features glaring at her as she stood calmly in front of him.

"Well then that's why I covered you," she ended the conversation there, gathering the cloak up in her arms and exiting the room.

Before covering herself over once again she turned to him and gave a small nod of gratitude forgetting the feelings of fear and terror this person was making her feel in a daily basis over the past few weeks, "Thanks, by the way. Have a good night"

Draco stared into the empty air, mildly perturbed by the encounter and even though she was long gone, he replied with a strained tone, "you too".

oOo


	46. Chapter 45

**oOo**

In the week following their strange midnight encounter, Malfoy had ignored Veronica's existence and pretending he had never even seen the girl as anything except an acquaintance of the boy he hated most. She quickly caught on to what he was doing after he blatantly made eye contact with her in the Great Hall, before turning his head away as soon as she smiled politely in greeting.

In previous years, it would've been weird for Malfoy to avoid Harry and his group of friends, as he usually took any chance he could to poke fun and bully them. However, over the course of their sixth year, Veronica has noticed Malfoy's sudden disinterest in the Gryffindors but she never thought too much of it.

After that night, of course, she realised there was more to Malfoy than she first thought. The fear and terror in his eyes reminded her of the vision she had over the summer, in which the blond boy seemed to be face to face with You-Know-Who, and had a similar look on his face then as well.

It made her entirely too curious, and although on the outside she decided to play along and appear to have forgotten about the boy's mysterious behaviour, her eyes were always discreetly following him around the room and looking out for him in every corridor and classroom.

Harry's suspicions of Malfoy were not diminishing either but seemed to be placed to one side as Dumbledore filled the boy's thoughts with Slughorn and the secrets that the professor was keeping.

He had told her, Ron and Hermione about the task he had been given by the Headmaster, to retrieve a memory from Slughorn that had been previously modified, and that it was crucial for the understanding and development of their fight against You-Know-Who. Other than that, he left it quite vague as to exactly what was so important about it - but Veronica knew and trusted that he would tell them eventually.

 **oOo**

Harry's newfound potion skills were certainly helping him stay on their Professor's good side, much to Hermione's annoyance, but the muggleborn knew there was only so much help it could give him before he would be caught out.

In their most recent lesson, Slughorn has asked them to prepare as many antidotes to common poisons as possible - and Veronica found herself and most others struggling with the task. Even Harry, who was frantically scanning the textbook in front of him, was unable to find many recipes to assist him.

With the sweat dripping down her face, she knew she must've looked like a right state after spending over an hour bent over a steaming cauldron. Unfortunately, she had barely even managed one antidote, and even that was poorly made with steady black steam rising from the surface, causing her and the others around her quite a bit of concern.

Hermione was currently frowning at the liquid in Veronica's cauldron, seeming taking a break from looking at Harry smugly while he searched for something to help him in the infamous book. Unlike Veronica, the girl had an impressive amount of vials in front of her, showing off the immense talent everyone that already knew she had.

Slughorn's booming voice echoed around the room, informing everyone that their time was up. He strolled around, nodding towards some peoples attempts, occasionally letting them know where they went wrong or what else they could've done to improve. It was times like this that made Veronica step back and acknowledge that Slughorn was actually an amazing teacher, and instead of scolding the students and making them feel bad, he gave them helpful tips and encouraging words.

He finally made his way to their table, merely shaking his head at Veronica and Ron's attempts, patting her on the shoulder as he passed her, only to stop dead in his tracks.

There Harry stood, after taking off to the resources table near the front of the room, now back next to his mess of a cauldron, holding out his hand with a small, roughly cut unassuming stone resting in his palm. The cute innocent grin on his face made Veronica smile, and the loud laugh Slughorn gave attracted the attention of the rest of the room.

"Oh, Harry. How incredible cheeky of you. You remind me so much of Lily sometimes." He then turned to address the rest of the class who was extremely confused, just like Veronica.

"A Bezoar stone, found in the stomach of a goat, most commonly used as an antidote for many poisons. Just shove it into the mouth of the victim and it will take an almost immediate effect!" He exclaimed, proudly staring at Harry, while using his hands in excited yet vicious gestures. "Your quick wit astounds me m'boy. You're lucky I have a sense of humour!"

Slughorn strides back to his desk to pick up the Liquid Luck that everyone was competing for and plops it into Harry's hand. "Don't try this on any other professor, I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it as much as I did, but nevertheless congratulations Harry!"

There was a feeling of disappointment around the room as people began packing up their things. Veronica gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and noticed behind them Draco giving Harry the dirtiest glare, whilst sneaking glances at the vial that was still grasped in Harry's hands.

"You can go ahead, I'm going to talk to Slughorn," Harry informed his friends, and so with a parting wave, they took off to the Great Hall for lunch.

As they walked through the Entrance Hall, Veronica droned out the conversation taking place between the Gryffindors and looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Malfoy take off up the stairs, which she found quite peculiar.

"Ronnie?" Hermione's voice broke her from the trance she was in and made her look towards the girl in question. Slightly ahead Lavender had caught up to Ron and was giggling while dragging him to sit with her. With only a quick look, Veronica could see the hurt in Hermione's eyes and pity took over her brain, pushing any thoughts of Malfoy away.

For the rest of lunch, Veronica was sat with Hermione, trying to distract her from the happy couple up ahead until Harry returned. The boy was downcast and seemed quite upset about something, so as her head was resting on Hermione's shoulder, her hand was in Harry's rubbing it with her thumb comfortingly.

 **oOo**

"Destination, Determination and Deliberation!" the words echoed around the room as a bunch of sleepy teenagers blinked at the short stumpy man pacing the length of the Great Hall.

Veronica was focusing on the hoop a few feet away from her, drowning out the voice of Mr Twycross, who was visiting from the Ministry especially to teach the students who were almost 17, how to apparate.

It was supposed to be a landmark in their wizarding lives, as they all come of age, the excitement of officially being able to perform magic should be bouncing around the room. But for a few of them, including Veronica, a Saturday morning was far too early for any type of lesson.

She was yawning and rubbing the side of her face as Harry, who was right beside her as always, was whispering to the others about Malfoy.

Veronica was getting sick of hearing Harry talk about him. Whenever they were together Harry always seemed to be either reading that potions book of his or coming up with ideas as to whatever Malfoy is apparently conspiring.

That's why she decided to stay where she was after Harry moved closer to the Slytherin's, tired enough already and not in the mood to eavesdrop on the mysterious boy who popped up in her thoughts more than she would care to admit to anyone else.

The visions she had before Christmas were still at the forefront of her mind, and if Dumbledore was never around to listen to her then perhaps she should take matters into her own hands.

 **oOo**


	47. Chapter 46

**oOo**

It was Ron Weasley's 17th birthday in a few days and Veronica seemed even more excited to celebrate than the boy himself.

She had dragged Harry and Hermione through the streets of Hogsmeade for ages, combing she shops to find an extravagant gift worthy for her ginger friend. Contrary to her beliefs that she was annoying them, leading to frequent apologies to her two friends, the Gryffindors actually found the girl's enthusiasm cute and endearing.

She was walking to the Gryffindor common room one evening after visiting Susan in the Hospital Wing, due to an unfortunate splinching accident in their apparation sessions, when a movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to stop.

A young girl, dressed in casual weekend clothes, was squirming uncomfortable and frowning at the ground, seeming as though she wanted to be anywhere but there.

When Veronica approached the girl, ready to walk straight past, a loud _clunk_ echoed around the corridor due to the girl dropping a large copper scale on the stone floor. It made the Hufflepuff feel terribly guilty for startling the poor child, and so she bent down, helping the girl pick up the metal contraption.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she exclaimed, holding her hand out to the figure still hunched over on the ground. The girl barely glanced up at her and remained in a crouched position.

Thinking she had upset the obviously shy girl, Veronica bent down in front of her with a concerned expression on her face. She frantically turned away, as if unable to meet Veronica's gaze.

"Are you alright?" she questioned, as one final attempt to comfort the girl, but after once again getting no response, she gave up - pushing herself onto her feet and brushing away any dirt that had gathered on her trousers.

It was only at that point did she realise where she was.

Veronica's eyes were now stuck on the seemingly empty wall of the unassuming seventh-floor corridor. Memories of Malfoy dragging her in there filled her mind, as she recalled all of the moments she's spent in the hidden room on the other side of the stone.

The girl was now staring at Veronica with a terrified look on her face, glancing between her and the same wall the Hufflepuff hadn't removed her glance off of.

Knowing she couldn't do anything while being watched by the young girl, Veronica slowly turned away and carried on down the corridor to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Unknowingly, the eyes followed her until she'd turned the corner out of sight.

"Abstinence," she murmured, ignoring the lewd comments that the portrait made about how she hoped Veronica was practising that while she was visiting her boyfriend.

The first thing she heard after walking into the common room was said boyfriends voice, and it brightened her mood almost immediately until she heard what he was complaining about.

"I'm serious Hermione, every time I look for Malfoy on the Map, he's not there. It's as if he is leaving the castle!" Harry stated in a slightly defensive tone. He was giving the brunette a wide-eyed look, waiting for her response.

Veronica shook her head and strolled over to the two Gryffindors sitting on the couches by the fire, wrapping her arms around Harry's shoulders from behind before kissing him on the cheek. "Maybe you should keep your voice down, love. I could hear you from across the room," she whispered into his ear.

Hermione smiled at the girl in greeting but quickly turned back to the boy, who was now distracted by the girl hanging off the back of the couch. "Harry, there is no way Malfoy is leaving the castle on a daily basis, especially not after the increased security Dumbledore has introduced," she sighed exasperatedly.

Harry glared back at her while Veronica walked around the couch to snuggle up into Harry's side, knowing her presence would be one of the only things that could calm him down.

"Well he's going somewhere Hermione, and wherever he's going, it doesn't show up on the map!" his voice rising in volume once again, making Veronica place her hand on his chest and gently _shhh_ him.

She stopped suddenly, as it clicked in her brain as to where Malfoy was running off to. She felt like an idiot for not realising it before, but now she knew where to look for the boy she was so desperately trying to stop from acting out her worst nightmare.

It was only once Ron came bounding over to them, yelling out a greeting that she was thrown out of her thoughts for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

"There he is! The birthday boy!" She squealed, getting off of the couch to give Ron a quick hug, squeezing him affectionately.

"It's not my birthday yet, Veronica. Calm down," he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief at her while sharing an amused look with Harry behind her back. The chosen one staring at his girlfriend lovingly.

 _Ahem. ˙_ Someone clearing their throat broke the close friends from their conversation. They all turned in synchrony towards Lavender who was stood a few feet away with her arms crossed, glaring at Veronica threateningly.

"If you're all done, I would like to talk to _my_ boyfriend. Thanks." She spoke, waving her hands dramatically in the air while prominently looking at the Hufflepuff.

Hermione scoffed, before packing away the parchment and books that were open in front of her and heading towards the dormitory stairs, without saying another word to the group collected by the fireplace.

An awkward silence followed, as Veronica and Harry shared a glance, desperately begging one another to say something.

After another moment, Veronica turned to her boyfriend, "I need to be going anyway, Susan should be getting out of the Hospital Wing tonight so I offered to help carry her stuff back to the dorms."

With a final kiss to Harry, she strolled back out of the common room, not noticing a group of girls whispering in the corner of the room, gathered around a box of chocolates, with their eyes following her around.

 **oOo**

It took a lot for Veronica to lie to Harry's face, but she knew he would've never let her go alone if he'd known where she was really going.

She was hovering around the corner from where she was earlier tonight, peeking around cautiously, before sighing in relief when she noticed the corridor was empty. No shy, suspicious little girls carrying heavy scales in sight.

Except another obstacle hit her while she was pacing up and down next to the wall.

She didn't know exactly what she was even searching for.

Sure, she knew Malfoy was in the Room of Requirement, but from her vast experience with the disappearing classroom from the year before, she was positive it wouldn't be letting her anywhere near the mysteries it contained.

It must've been her lucky day when she noticed the door slowly materialising, and before she knew it, she was forcing it open, knocking back the blond boy who was attempting to leave.

"What the hell! Green?! Wha-" She held her hand up in defence, shutting him up quickly, eyeing the wand now inches from her face.

She looked into his gaunt eyes, ignoring the questioning, yet icy gaze. His face seemed to get paler every time she sees him, and his features stood out as if he hadn't eaten a good full meal in a while.

"My turn to talk Malfoy," she demands, the rough tone of her voice causing his eyebrows to raise in surprise.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but what I do know is that it can't be good. The number of hours I've spent lying awake, my dreams haunted with these awful images..." her voice trails off, breaking slightly as she thinks back on the past few months.

Malfoy's eyes were filled with badly concealed panic. "Green, wha-"

"Veronica," she interrupts, "call me Veronica."

He eyed her desperate expression and decided to comply, "Okay, Veronica. What are you talking about? What dreams?" He acts confused but cautious, remembering when the Dark Lord hinted at Potter's girlfriend's 'secret abilities'.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "You're always there, and Dumbledore -" this time he cuts her off by shoving his previously lowered wand into her face again.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about what I have to do!" he yells, getting closer to her as his voice raises, shaking with anger.

"I know that whatever it is, you don't want to do it!" she called back, her words causing him to hesitate slightly, but he still didn't lower his defensive position. Malfoy was watching her closely, trying to pick up her next move.

Veronica took pity on the boy and decided to take a softer approach. "Listen, Malfoy, you always have a choice. You can't let him control your life forever"

Malfoy slumped, his wand dropping to his side in defeat. "I have to listen to him. He's already taken over. My house and my family, we're always being watched." He sighed and collapsed against the wall next to her.

"Not forever. We will beat him, he won't win this war" she says determined, with complete trust and belief to her words.

Malfoy didn't reply straight away. His eyes were shut and his head rested against the wall tiredly. It was quiet for so long Veronica was starting to think he'd fallen asleep. Until he spoke softly, his eyes remaining closed.

"Draco," he whispered. She looked at him in confusion as he turned to face her.

"Call me Draco."

 **oOo**


	48. Chapter 47

**oOo**

Saying that Draco and Veronica got along was a bit of an overstatement. But they tolerated each other's company.

And although he would never admit it, Draco was actually comforted by the presence of someone else. Someone who wouldn't judge, nor ask any intruding questions they knew he wasn't going to answer.

That's the role Veronica played. She returned to the room of requirement the day after their confrontation, and just sat there for a while watching as Draco struggled with some cabinet. She brought a book with her to read but never got around to actually opening it, her eyes trailing after the boy the whole time trying to understand what he was doing.

It all seemed calm and quiet, the two rarely speaking except for Veronica greeting Draco and exchanging pleasantries at the beginning of the night.

Before she knew it, the evening had flown by, and it was well after midnight when Draco shrugged on his black blazer over his shirt and told her they should be leaving.

He seemed to already have a schedule in place for the entire process, alerting her subconscious that he'd obviously been doing this for a while without anyone noticing. Veronica followed him to the door inquisitively.

"How do you sneak around every night without ever getting detention?" she questions, not really understanding the Slytherin's actions, but in reality not trying to.

Draco glanced back at her with a smug look in his eyes. "Professor Snape lets me off if I get caught," he answers, shocking her as she tries to imagine the Head of Slytherin being nice to anyone.

"Perks of him being a family friend. He wouldn't want to upset my father," he explains after she didn't reply, her face not being able to hide her curious expression.

She shrugged, slightly impressed, silently wishing she had those sorts of connections around the school.

She thanked him quietly as he held the door to the room of requirement open for her, as she wondered in her head if she could visit Harry. Knowing her boyfriend he was probably still awake anyway, despite the time of night.

The Slytherin barely noticed the girl glancing down the hallway in the direction of the Gryffindor common room as he took off down the hallway, encouraging her to follow him.

She pushed away from the nagging feeling in her head drawing her to Harry's dorm and wandered after Draco, confident that everything was okay for her other friends.

 **oOo**

Veronica woke up dreadfully late the next morning and was rushing around the dorm ignoring all conversations around her.

It was only when she heard certain names of her close friends being whispered across the room did she pause and turn back to face her roommates.

"What did you just say?" she asked cautiously, trying to wrap her head around the information as the fear and panic slowly sinks in.

"Ron Weasley is in the Hospital Wing, apparently," Susan informed her, watching the girl with pressing eyes. The rest of the girls were watching Veronica, interested in her reaction due to the girl's connection to the Gryffindor.

Hannah stepped forward and placed her hand on the frozen Veronica's arm, rubbing it sympathetically. "It seemed quite serious, his parents and brothers were seen earlier this morning," she whispered softly into her ear.

Veronica leaned into the comforting embrace, not completely registering what was just said. At that moment, she was grateful for Hannah's kindness and friendship even if they didn't spend much time together.

"Come on V, I'll walk you out," Hannah says before guiding the girl out of the common room, avoiding the eyes watching them, almost as if they were waiting for Veronica to break down.

During the walk to the Hospital Wing, the girl was wondering why she didn't see this coming. Of all the events she has been forced to witness, Ron being hurt was one thing she could've stopped.

It was frustrating, but at the moment her concern for her friend was what pushed her forward.

 **oOo**

The Hospital Wing was quite empty, with most of the beds empty save for one near the end of the room, surrounded by a crowd of friendly faces.

They all turned to face Veronica once the door shut loudly behind her, many of them smiling in greeting at the sight of the Hufflepuff. After a brief wave and hello, she headed straight for Harry, whose traumatised eyes barely lifted from his best friend's pale face.

"What happened to him?" she asked, gripping her boyfriend's hand in support.

Her heart ached as she stared at the ginger boy, his usually pleasant and warm features gone as the sickly green colour of his skin and terrifying stillness of his body a harsh contrast to what she has grown used to.

"Poisoned mead, unfortunately. Professor Slughorn had just explained to us that after treating Mr Weasley of a particularly strong love potion, they opened a bottle in celebration however it went downhill rather suddenly," the wise words flowing out of Dumbledore's mouth in answer to her question, but his eyes seemed to drift away from the group, his mind obviously ticking away.

"Love potion?" Veronica asked, confused by the aloof attitude around that particular issue.

Everyone shuffled slightly, none of them making eye contact with the girl as Harry cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Yea, um. The chocolates were left in our dorm on my bed, but I chucked them to the side and, um, Ron ate them I guess" he stuttered, looking at her in the eyes with an apologetic gleam.

She sighed dejectedly, the annoyance flooding through her at the idea of someone trying to steal Harry's attention. She quickly patted his arm to let the anxious boy know she wasn't mad at him, but before she could speak the sound of the doors slamming open again took their attention.

"Where's my Won-Won?! Has he been calling for me?!" Lavender squeals as she sprints over to them with tears running down her face.

She collapses next to Ron on the bed, burying her head into his shoulder in relief. "Don't worry, I'm here now baby," she whispers to him, but it's obvious everyone heard due to the sniggers coming from Fred and George.

Veronica was now looking at Hermione who, up until this point, was sitting quietly by Ron's side, a hand resting on the covers near his own. The girl was eyeing Lavender with distaste and started leaning away from the bed before something made her halt.

Light murmuring came from the unconscious boy on the bed, making everyone lean in slightly to hear what he was saying.

"Her - mio - ne," the words becoming somewhat clearer the more he spoke, and as soon as Veronica recognised the name, she beamed in delight gripping Harry's hand tightly to contain her excitement.

Lavender had the complete opposite reaction, however, and gasped in disbelief. Ron was still repeating Hermione's name and at this point the brunette he was calling for was holding his hand firmly.

His girlfriend was now glancing between the people crowded around the bed, tears welling in her eyes for a different reason.

When she caught a glimpse of Harry and Veronica's matching smirks, a large and sudden sob echoed around the room and she shoved through them heading towards the exit as quickly as she entered the first time.

The adults seemed to stare after her with a confused look on their faces. "Ah to be so young and to feel love's keen sting," Dumbledore speaks to them melancholically before glancing at the two students on the bed and smiling with his eyes twinkling.

"I believe Mr Weasley is in good hands, shall we take our leave?" he gestures to the doors and seems to drift out of the room, with the other teachers following behind him.

Harry stares down at Veronica before addressing the remaining family, "I think we're going to leave as well, get some breakfast, ya?" he asks his girlfriend who lights up at the mention of food, nodding eagerly.

Before they turn completely, the Hufflepuff looks at Hermione teasingly, "Have fun!" she exclaims, winking to the twins as they start to laugh out loud.

"Oh don't worry about that, Ronnie!" Fred shouts to the exiting couple. "Yes, we'll be having tons of fun," George finishes, the two of them already wiggling their eyes to the girl holding their sleeping brother's hand.

Hermione rolls her eyes, but has a noticeable smile on her face as she looks at their conjoined hands. "Ah, shut up guys" she whispered to the rest of the giggling group.

 **oOo**


	49. Chapter 48

oOo

Romilda Vane.

The Gryffindor who tried to slip Harry the love potion in the shape of some cauldron cakes.

Veronica heard the whole story once she and Harry had made it to breakfast and by that point, word had gotten around about Ron in the hospital wing, and why Lavender was seen running away crying.

The couple were sitting at the Gryffindor table, whispering quietly to each other, trying to avoid all the looks and gestures being thrown their way until they were rudely interrupted.

"Potter! Just the man I've been looking for!" a booming voice demanded, and they looked up to find Cormac McLaggen had slid into the seat opposite them, smiling smugly at Harry.

Harry seemed to visible sigh in annoyance and glanced at Veronica with a knowing look in his eyes before addressing the impatient guy.

"Cormac." He greeted him with distress in his tone, wanting nothing more than to not be in this conversation right now.

"We need to talk about something very important," the egotistical voice of McLaggen sounding around them, "alone."

After being sent a dirty, condescending look by Cormac, Veronica found herself waiting for Harry in the Entrance Hall, shocked by the blatant disrespect from the boy. Especially considering she had done nothing to him.

She was quickly distracted by raised voices echoing down the corridor.

"My brother is in the Hospital Wing right now, and you didn't even ask me how I was!"

Everyone stared at Ginny Weasley as she and her boyfriend Dean screamed at each other, the boy storming in one direction and the ginger girl in the other.

Veronica stared worryingly after the Gryffindor couple, considering going after Ginny until a hand on her shoulder shook her from her thoughts.

Harry saw the far off look in her eye and believed she was truly upset over how Cormac treated her a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry for McLaggen, he really doesn't know when to stop nagging me about Quidditch, especially now we're one player down for this weekends game," the boy explained, partially ranting to the girl that was barely paying attention.

She stopped him apologetically, "Harry, honestly it's fine - I need to go talk to Ginny she ran past just now."

While she was describing what just happened, she edged away in the direction she saw her run off to.

"Ginny and Dean?" Harry seemed confused, but Veronica knew she could explain properly later and jogged away to catch up with Ginny, leaving her baffled boyfriend staring after her.

oOo

Sniffling and sobbing gave away the location of the Weasley girl quite easily as Veronica didn't have to go very far before noticing the ginger curled against the wall down an almost empty corridor.

She raced over to Ginny and quickly wrapped her arms around the poor girl, quietly shushing her and whispering gently into her ear.

"Shhh, he's not worth crying over," she rubs her back comfortingly while Ginny buries her head into Veronica's shoulder.

A few minutes later, the Gryffindor was calm enough to talk, snivelling slightly while wiping the tears from her eyes. She looks up at Veronica, grateful for the girl's presence.

"Thank you, Ronnie. Everything seems to be going wrong all at once," she explained, "I just don't have the energy to deal with it all right now."

Veronica pitied Ginny at this moment and knew what it was like to feel like the world was against you, and with Ron's current state - that is unconscious and poisoned in the Hospital Wing - she can see how this reaction was justified.

"Then let's not deal with it yet," she decided, standing up and tugging Ginny after her with purpose.

"What are you thinking Ronnie?" Ginny's curious eyes stared down the Hufflepuff while she was being pulled up a staircase, the opposite direction from where they needed to be.

They stopped near the Gryffindor common room on the seventh floor and Veronica finally turned to face Ginny once again, her eyes glinting with excitement.

"People won't miss us if we just pause for a few hours, you deserve a break." She walked by the wall and a grin crept onto her face as the familiar door to the Room of Requirement revealed itself.

Her and Ginny made eye contact for a second before the Weasley also broke out in a smile and the girls shared a giggle before entering the hidden room, the door disappearing behind them.

oOo

"So what are you going to do about Romilda?" Ginny questions after Veronica recounted the same story she'd heard earlier that day.

The Hufflepuff sighed and glanced around at the broken objects and rubbish piled high around them, her eyes briefly giving the infamous cabinet a once over as she thought about her newest enemy. The girl who was chasing her boyfriend.

"I don't know. Harry has told me before that I have no need to worry about other girls, so," she pauses in her explanation, Ginny staying silent as Veronica talks.

"I'm not going to do anything," she concludes, trying to think of another subject to talk about, not wanting to think about how Harry is now considered one of the more desirable boys at Hogwarts.

Ginny scoffs in disbelief, "seriously? The girl tried to slip him a love potion, and she almost succeeded. If I were you I wouldn't let something like that go so easily."

Veronica considered what her friend was saying, but didn't change her mind.

"Harry will be much more careful now that this has happened, especially after it all went wrong. Also, I trust him with my whole heart that he would never willingly leave or hurt me, so no I won't be doing anything." She ends her speech there, confident in everything she has said.

The Gryffindor was thrown by that response for a short while before asking something that not even Veronica had thought about yet.

"So, you really like him huh?" she asks, and when Veronica nodded straight away, she dug a little deeper, "would you say you loved him?"

This time it was Veronica's turn to stay silent, the question catching her off guard.

A few minutes later she still didn't have a certain answer so quietly laughed it off, "I don't know. I have never felt this way about someone before, and Harry truly has made my life so much better, but I never really thought about loving him."

Ginny nodded and saw how hesitant her friend was, so quickly tried to raise the spirits once again, "well there's no rush, I'm sure Harry also doesn't know how he's feeling right now either. You are his first real girlfriend, so don't expect him to confess either."

Veronica totally understood, and as she was going to continue their conversation, the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, one of the only things that still worked, chimed loudly, scaring the two girls curled up on the sofa.

"Oh my Merlin, its almost dinner time!" Veronica exclaimed, not realising they had been sitting there almost all day.

She jumped off the seat, Ginny not far behind her as they jogged to the exit through the maze of knick-knacks piled high around them.

Before they left the room, Ginny placed her hand on Veronica's shoulder, pulling her attention to her.

"Thank you for bringing me here, it really cheered me up," she smiled gently at the girl who she clearly didn't talk to enough in the past. "I completely forgot this place existed after last year."

Veronica nodded agreeing with Ginny, "Yeah, it's actually a great place to hang out without being bothered, and you're welcome. You definitely needed a break from all the drama."

After that touching moment, the girls quickly headed back to the Great Hall, to face the rest of the school, something they feel much more prepared for due to the many talks and advice they've given each other throughout the day.

Walking into the Great Hall, Ginny headed for Dean, wanting to sort out their relationship after the very public argument from earlier.

Harry waved Veronica over, and the butterflies in her stomach just from seeing his smile just affirmed that she was well and truly fallen. Perhaps even... in love.

Ginny's words from earlier echoed through her mind though, "don't expect him to confess," and "you're his first real girlfriend," and she knew that whatever she was feeling could be kept to herself for at least a little while longer.

So she pushed those thoughts away and happily sat next to Harry, just enjoying the time she got to spend with him while she could.

oOo


	50. Chapter 49

Sorry for the filler chapters, they're necessary for what I have planned for the future :)

oOo

Veronica felt quite guilty sitting in the Room of Requirement waiting for Draco, knowing there was a very important Quidditch game about to go down between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

When Harry came up to her this morning hoping she would be by the pitch to watch and cheer him on, she feigned illness and unwillingly told him she wished she could be there. She almost went back on her words once seeing the visible disappointment in her boyfriend's eyes.

He kissed her on the cheek and sent her off to bed straight away, claiming he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else if he knew she was on her feet all day.

Now while she's sitting in the quiet, cluttered room - her thoughts were drifting back to the lies she was telling, guilt flooding through her.

Her distraction arrived shortly though, prying her attention to the frail Slytherin boy, striding over to the wardrobe with a determined look on his face.

"No small talk today then?" her soft voice surprising Draco, reminding him that she was there.

"Huh?" he asks, causing her to chuckle slightly at his confused, misty eyes as he quickly glanced over to Veronica, the girl still sitting on the sofa with a relaxed posture.

"Good morning, Draco. Sleep well?" The question shocking him, as he wasn't used to someone show an actual genuine interest in his well-being.

He sighed, slouching slightly in defeat as his mind drifted back to the nightmares and images constantly projected into his mind of what could happen if he failed this mission.

A soft shake of his head was all she got as an answer.

Veronica's eyes softened as she saw the heavy dark circles around her new friend's eyes. She stood and made her way to a rusty gramophone across the room, feeling Draco watching her as she did.

Gentle, and slightly scratchy orchestra music started playing around the room as she turned back around now heading to stand right next to him, scanning the large daunting wardrobe in front of them.

Resting her hand on the blond's shoulder, she pulled out her wand and a small piece of parchment with a list of spells she had looked for in the library in her spare time.

"I haven't had much time to look, but here are a few older less known spells that may help you out, I've never really heard of them before so who knows what will happen."

There was silence for a moment, the only sounds they could hear was the whispers of strings and old brass from the record.

"It's worth a try I guess," Draco said, glancing up to look at her, a grateful and content gaze on his face.

"Thank you, Veronica."

oOo

"Luna was hilarious, she knew very little about the actual game but I could listen to her talk all day!" Hermione explained to Veronica, the Hufflepuff not really paying attention, staring straight at Harry, who was knocked out on a medical bed in front of her.

"Sorry Hermione but could you just tell me exactly how Harry managed to crack open his skull?" she interrupted, reminding her friend of the injured boy they were visiting.

"McClaggen. He got impatient, snatched a beater's club and whacked the bludger into the back of Harry's head," Ginny's voice from behind them appeared as she walked to the other seat beside the bed.

Ron, who was still in the Hospital Wing in his bed, spoke up at this point "I could hear the excitement through the open window, Luna was definitely great to listen to. Although I didn't really know what was going in."

Hermione and Ron got into a conversation once again about the new commentator for the Quidditch match, but Harry's eyes flickering open caught Veronica's attention first.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?" Veronica murmured towards him, careful not to make any loud or sudden sounds to disturb his still mending bone.

Veronica's soft voice calmed him down, as he tried to reach to her, but an unfamiliar feeling rocked his mind and made him jump slightly.

Once his vision cleared slightly he glanced down to see his hand was being held by Ginny, seemingly unknowingly as she drifts her gaze from where she was inspecting his wound, down to their conjoined hands and she quickly flinched away, letting go suddenly.

He frowned, confused by what had just happened, trying to focus back on his beautiful girlfriend, who was sifting her hands through his hair, stroking his forehead with her thumb.

"Yea, I've, um lived through worse," he paused for a second but continued, "uh actually...how bad _is_ it?"

She giggled at his lack of knowledge yet feeling as though he still had to downplay the injuries, and kissed him on the cheek.

"A slight crack on your head, you have definitely been through worse babe," she informs him, the two sharing amused and loving eye contact.

Hermione now turned from talking to Ron, "Speaking of, you're never usually that distracted during a game, Harry. Anything on your mind?" she questions, curiously.

Harry sighed, his eyes furrowed as he thinks back to what he saw before the game.

"Malfoy was walking towards the castle with these two young girls that I've never really seen around, I wanted to follow him, I bet he was going to his hidden room where he spends most of his time," the boy explains, causing an exchanging of tired looks throughout his friends.

Veronica avoids eye contact with him, fiddling with the bedsheets while the Gryffindors in the room try to answer Harry's ramblings.

"It's not like you can have eyes and ears on him the entire time!" Ron exclaims, triggering an idea in the boy's mind.

Next thing she knew a loud pop filled the air and two familiar house-elves appeared on the end of Harry's bed, Dobby hanging off of Kreacher, squabbling and yelling at him.

"Dobby!" everyone almost yelled in unison, making the house-elves realise that they had changed locations and were now at Hogwarts in front of the very person they were previously fighting about.

"Harry Potter!"- "Master," they greeted him, one in a very excited upbeat tone, the other grumbling miserably.

"Kreacher was saying very bad things about Harry Potter and his friends! Dobby has been trying to stop him, but now Kreacher and Dobby are here!" the happy elf always trying to seek affirmation from Harry.

"That's um, great, Dobby, listen I want you to do something important for me-" he was interrupted once again by the elf jumping for joy.

"Listen, I want you two to follow Draco Malfoy. Wherever he goes, and whoever he talks to, let me know," Harry paused for a second before turning to Kreacher in particular. "Draco is not allowed to know about this either!"

Kreacher grumbled something about how he wished the Malfoy's were his masters before both elves took off with another pop.

Dread filled Veronica as she realised that Draco had no idea he was going to be constantly stalked, and who knew what would happen if she got caught sneaking in or out of the Room of Requirement with said Slytherin.

oOo


	51. Chapter 50

oOo

A loud thud woke Veronica from her slumber, frightening her after the nightmares she was having about a seemingly horrifying Deatheater raid on Hogwarts.

Groggily, she looked around her and instead of the usual bedspread and dorm she has grown accustomed to, she was on an old and uncomfortable sofa. She slowly sat up, removing the dark blazer thrown over her body, which was sprawled out on the cushions.

"Good morning," a voice spoke from across the cluttered room. Draco still standing in front of the wardrobe, the sleeves of his crumpled white shirt rolled up past his elbows.

"What was that noise?" she asked, greeting him with a lazy smile.

He broadly gestured to the large double doors towards the right of the sofa she was on.

"Just Crabbe, letting us know someone walked past. It's quite common this time in the morning, breakfast is being served in the Hall."

The words came out so casually, hinting that he was here often in the early hours of the day. This worried Veronica slightly, along with the tangled hair and distressed clothing.

"Have you slept yet, Draco?"

The Slytherin didn't say anything for a while, answering the question silently. Veronica sent an exasperated look his way, making him roll his eyes playfully.

"It wouldn't've been a very peaceful sleep anyway! I haven't been able to sleep properly in months, Ronnie," he explains, his voice echoing how tired he truly way.

She understood what he was talking about, being prone to nightmares and restless nights herself.

"Besides, the way you were tossing and turning over there tells me you know how I feel."

They shared a silent look of understanding before his soft eyes turned away from her and he nodded at the door.

"Go get some breakfast, it'll help you feel better. Plus I'm sure your _friends_ are waiting for you," he grumbled, trailing off near the end.

Sighing, she slowly lifted herself off of the sofa, drifting out the room.

However, before she left, she faces him again and smiles at his hunched figure.

"You're my friend too Draco, how many times do I have to tell you that," and walked out shutting the door behind her.

oOo

Veronica jogs into the Great Hall but stops suddenly in her place at the sight of her boyfriend sitting at the table with Hermione.

"Harry!" she calls out, getting his attention causing the boy to smile brightly at her before shuffling over to create space beside him.

She greeted him with a long and amorous hug, delighted to see him out of the Hospital Wing so soon. As they pull away she kisses him gently, triggering a few whistles from his other mates in Gryffindor.

"I didn't know you were being released today!" she exclaims, looking at Hermione for an explanation.

"Both Harry and Ron were released this morning. Madame Pomfrey said they were well enough to leave and basically ordered them to never return," the curly brunette said, smiling slightly as well.

The absence of their ginger friend was then made aware to her, but after she started looking around for him Harry told her Lavender had pulled him for a chat.

Ron came slouching in a few moments later, and Veronica had once again embraced the boy wholeheartedly, glad he too was healthy.

It seemed the friendly dynamic that she had sorely missed was now well reestablished between the group, all former arguments had been forgotten about - making the Hufflepuff feel happier than she had been all year.

oOo

Veronica finds the days going by quite smoothly, balancing her time with her boyfriend and friends, while also sneaking around to see Draco.

She was in the Gryffindor Common Room one afternoon, studying with Hermione while the boys relaxed on the sofa next to them.

They all quickly got fed up of hearing Ron beg Hermione to help him with all of the work that had piled up while he was in the Hospital Wing. So Harry decided to change the topic.

"Hermione have you heard of this spell?" he asked, leaning closer to Veronica to show the girls where he was pointing to.

Small scratchy handwriting in slightly smudged black ink spelt out the word, 'Sectumsempra', and underneath, 'for enemies'.

The sound of Hermione scolding Harry for reading the book faded away as flashed of blood and a fallen body in flooded water-filled Veronica's mind.

She shuddered at the dread that she felt from those images.

"-having blacked out moments where you wake up and don't remember how you got there?" Ginny's voice brought her back to the room.

Harry shakes his head as the ginger girl concludes he is not being possessed by the 'Half-Blood Prince', nor the book itself. This reminds Veronica of a few years ago when Voldemort controlled Ginny, she feels so sorry for the Weasley girl, who hadn't had the easiest of years.

A loud pop distracts the group, and the appearance of Dobby and Kreacher creates a commotion of feelings between the teenagers.

Harry's excitement at the prospect of getting a report on Draco violently contrasts with the dread and nerves Veronica felt, especially considering they were both anticipating similar news.

"Harry Potter!" Dobby exclaims, looking up at him admirably, while Veronica notices the snide looks Kreacher is sending her way every now and again.

"Dobby! It's so good to see you," Harry starts, making the cheerful elf's face light up with more delight than he has ever shown before. "Any news on Malfoy?" the boy's eyes filled with want and greed for more information.

"Dobby sees Mister Malfoy doesn't do much. he will eat very little, sleep very little then go to the disappearing room for a long time, Dobby almost gets bored-" the elf was interrupted.

"Disappearing room? Where is that?" Harry's frustration and confusion very obvious to the rest of them.

Dobby stares up at Harry with his big, shiny eyes. "The same one Harry Potter and his friends used last year, Mister Malfoy is always in there."

The Gryffindors all exchange looks as they realised what the house-elf was describing.

"The Room of Requirement!" the Golden Trio shouted at the same time.

Hermione carried on, "of course, that's why he keeps disappearing from the map! The Room of Requirement is unplottable, so if anyone were to go in there they wouldn't be found again until they left!"

Veronica catches the eye of Kreacher once again, who was still sending her knowing looks and secret glares. The elf clearly knew something, but the Hufflepuff decided to feign ignorance.

"That's strange. Ginny and I were there earlier this year and it didn't seem like anyone else knew about it," she murmurs to the group, Ginny nodding to confirm her words.

Harry seemed to be in deep thought, not listening to them discussing the possibilities, before turning to Dobby and Kreacher rapidly.

"Is anyone else ever there? Hanging around the room or outside it?"

Veronica has to give it to him. Many people described Harry as an oblivious idiot talking nonsense, but she saw the intelligence in her boyfriend's eyes, and she couldn't help but be proud of his ability to solve the issues he has faced.

"Oh, Kreacher has seen many students hovering around the Malfoy heir, some he knows, others are strangers. They are fickle, unknowing of anything around them to come-" Kreacher was now whispering insults and other confusing words, causing Harry to turn to the elf he calls his friend.

Dobby nodded, "Yes, Dobby sees different children standing outside sometimes. Dobby is sad to tell Harry Potter but... Dobby was unable to get inside. Dobby failed Harry Potter."

Noticing the tears building in his eyes, Harry decided to end the conversation quickly, "No, no. Thank you Dobby, the information was very useful actually. I - um - I'm pleased?"

The elf was still sniffling, but those words cheered him up enough to bid the rest of them farewell, before grabbing a still grumbling Kreacher and apparating away.

Harry turns to them once again, a fire alights in his eyes.

"The students that they were talking about - it's definitely Crabbe and Goyle. Polyjuice potion was being stoled from Slughorns stores, and I've seen Draco being followed around by the little first years."

Hermione took this opportunity to remind Harry of his bigger responsibilities, "perhaps you should talk to Professor Slughorn about the potion then, remember you need to be friendly with him Harry."

The boy nodded without really listening, before getting up and taking off upstairs, appearing again a moment later with his invisibility cloak.

With a kiss to Veronica's cheek, Harry exits the common room, mentioning the Room of Requirement once more, as the portrait slams behind him.

oOo


	52. Chapter 51

*contains intimate moments - just implied*

oOo

Veronica and Harry seemed to be spending a lot more time together over the past couple of weeks, and usually, it would've made her extremely happy.

She loved having Harry near her, the boy had a very comforting atmosphere about him, and with his hand in hers and his constant touch and affection, she would always be thinking about the next time she could see him when they were apart.

However, when her boyfriend would take her hand and gently guide her out of a room, she now dreads it, as it always ends up having an ulterior motive.

So here she finds herself on the seventh floor, huddled under Harry's invisibility cloak, the boy in question may have been holding her close, but his full attention was on the empty wall in front of them.

She rested her head on his chest, glancing next to them at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. At this point she had almost memorised every piece of woven cotton, waiting for Harry to grow tired of stalking the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

Harry could sense her frustration, and stroked his thumb along the small of her back, near where his hands usually rested on her hips.

Glancing up at him, she admired the determination in his eyes and knew that even if she was bored out of her mind, her presence was also calming for him, and she was secretly overjoyed that he still wanted her by his side.

Veronica reached up, softly kissing along his jaw, as her fingers caressed his shoulders. She could feel the tension leave his body as his mouth slowly turned up into a smile.

Knowing she had now successfully distracted him, one of her hands came up to cup his chin and Harry willingly turned his lips towards hers.

The couple stood there for a few minutes, lost in the other person, as their lips collided, getting more intense as time went on.

Harry ran his hands up and down her back, resting them slightly lower down than most would deem appropriate, and trying to pull her closer towards his body, despite the fact they were already completely pressed together.

Finally, Veronica pulled away from the steamy make out, looking up into Harry's eyes, that had darkened considerably and he stared back at her while they both caught their breath.

"Can we go back to the common room and relax now Harry, we've been here all afternoon," she whispered into his ear. The boy was still very flustered and so only nodded as she led his back towards the Fat Lady, his eyes still boring into her back.

Ron and Hermione were seemingly waiting for their return as once they had entered the common room, they were quickly ushered over to the fireplace.

Listening on the conversation, Veronica learned that Hagrid's pet spider had died, and the half-giant had sent them a letter, wishing their presence at the funeral he was having the next night.

She seemed to be the only sympathetic one, however, as once she'd expressed her sorry for Hagrid, Ron quickly scoffed and explained the entire story of how he and Harry were almost eaten or something in their second year.

The trio quickly decided they weren't going to go, Hermione logically explaining the trouble they'd get into if they were caught out on the grounds after curfew.

The rest of the night was spent in relative silence as Ron and Hermione study for their apparition tests, and Harry and Veronica seemingly exhausted head to bed early after continuously drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.

oOo

The next day, Veronica was walking to potions class, and from around the corner, she heard her boyfriend talking to his two best friends about the mission Dumbledore gave him to get a special memory from Slughorn.

"Why don't you use that Liquid Luck before talking to Slughorn?" Ron questions, but Harry quickly shut down that idea but seemed reluctant to answer why when Hermione asked.

"I just don't want to waste it on that. I'm... saving it for something else," he whispers, his voice lowering in what sounded like, embarrassment?

"Something like what?" she spoke up from behind them, noticing how Harry sprung up in shock as he turned to see her, his face flushing a bright red when they made eye contact.

"Just, like, a special occasion I guess," he murmured. Before she or the others could question any further, Slughorn opened the classroom door to welcome them in, and Harry speed-walked past the Professor into the room.

"Aha! Eager to learn I see m'boy!" Slughorn said, acting as if he didn't raise his voice at Harry the last time they spoke.

Veronica turned to the remaining members of the Gryffindor Trio, shaking off Harry's weird behaviour.

"Good luck on your apparition tests you guys! We'll see you afterwards!" she waved, seeing Ron's face pale as he remembers the exam that he and Hermione were taking imminently.

Walking through the doorway, she noticed that only her, Harry, Ernie and Draco were there, everyone else heading towards Hogsmeade to take the exam.

She greeted Ernie happily, and also managed to catch Draco's tired eyes, smiling at him. Guilt flooded her as she realised she hadn't visited him in over a week, but he was still glad to see her, nodding mildly before turning back to face his desk.

Knowing they weren't going to be doing much she collapsed on the bench next to Harry, leaning on her arms and watching him work out of the book once again, making a random potion to put their names on at the end of the lesson.

oOo

After lunch they headed back to the common room, Harry telling her how Slughorn managed to escape talking to him once again after class.

"I really think you should consider using Felix Felicis for this situation, Harry. Nothing else is more important right now than getting that memory," she tried to explain to him, but he didn't seem to care.

Stopping just outside the portrait, Harry grabs both her hands making her gaze up at him as he admires her.

"You're more important than anything else, okay?" he whispers, sending chills up her spine at the honest and deep look in his eyes.

The smile on her face stretched so wide it was almost hurting as she embraced the boy she loved, moving towards his ear as she answers, "you don't need any extra luck to get me, Harry. You already have me - for as long as you want me around."

He rests his forehead on hers for a moment, pecking her lips and saying gently, "forever, that's a promise."

oOo

That night, Veronica was pacing the length of the Gryffindor common room, waiting with Ron and Hermione for Harry to return.

As soon as he'd drunk the luck potion his face glazed over, and he had taken off in search of Hagrid, despite the others reminding him to find and talk to Slughorn.

Harry had been gone for a good few hours now, and Veronica was getting worried. It was far too late for him to be roaming the grounds alone and only hoped he was either stopped along the way or had found Hagrid quickly.

"Ronnie come and sit down, walking around won't make him come back any quicker," Hermione said, yet her impatient glances at the portrait door said otherwise.

In the early hours of the morning, Veronica had only just allowed Ron to pull her down next to him, when the portrait opened suddenly, and Harry's bright face appeared in front of them. He answered their questioning gazes with a nod.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Hufflepuff pounced on him, holding him tightly against her as she whispered how proud of him she was, trying not to wake Hermione who had fallen asleep a while ago on Ron's shoulder.

Ron congratulated his best mate through tired eyes but didn't move too much due to the brunette still resting, attached to his arm.

Harry yawned so after promising to tell them the whole story in the morning, he led Veronica up the stairs to his dorm, walking quite swiftly up the stairs.

Only once the two of them were in bed, the curtains shut around them did Harry turn to her and give her a slow and gentle kiss.

The kissing once again picked up quickly in intensity, Veronica surprised by the amount of energy Harry had, after witnessing him yawn up a storm a few minutes ago downstairs.

He ran his hands down her thighs, before gripping one tightly and slinging it over his torso so she was straddling him.

She quietly squealed in surprised before looking down at him from where she was now positioned.

"You're happy all of a sudden," she comments, watching as he pulled out his wand to mutter a silencing charm around them.

He grinned, looking up at her, "Why shouldn't I be. I finally got the memory for Dumbledore, and now here I am sharing a bed with the girl I love," she gasped shocked at the causal admittance before leaning down and kissing him passionately.

"I love you too," she whispers before they continue with what they were doing before, going further than they've ever done - getting lost in a night of passion.

Veronica's last thought as they drifted to sleep later on was I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

oOo


	53. Chapter 52

oOo

The feeling of Harry shuffling around in bed woke Veronica up the next morning, soft fingers stroking down her cheek made her groan and shuffle closer to her boyfriend.

"Good morning," he whispers groggily before placing his lips on her forehead.

She smiles gently back at him while sitting up, the covers falling off of her upper body, making her glad the curtains of the bed were still drawn around them. Harry seemed glad too as his eyes drifted down below her face.

Veronica playfully slaps her hand to Harry's chin, drawing his eyes back up to hers, their eyes meeting cheekily as they share a smirk.

Just before Harry could fully lean in and press their lips together, the Hufflepuff pushed him away, crawling over to her clothes that she left on the bedside table.

"We have classes to get to Harry, we're already missing breakfast!" she exclaims after glancing at the time.

Luckily they got dressed rather quickly after that and took off down the hallway and managed to make it to Charms.

oOo

The group of friends were crowded around one table, listening to Harry recall everything he could remember from Slughorn's memories that he and Dumbledore witnessed.

"So, Slughorn obviously feels guilty for telling Voldemort about the Horcruxes, and didn't want you or Dumbledore to judge him, or _blame_ him for everything that has happened," Veronica says, still a little confused about the soul splitting for protection.

Harry shrugged in response, obviously unaware of how the Professor was feeling but nodded to her anyway.

Hermione was in deep thought after learning this information and didn't seem to perk back into reality until the conversation had shifted to Ron explaining why the group were being glared at from across the room.

"Yeah, we broke up officially now I guess," the ginger explained while shifting uncomfortably in his seat as Lavender sent him evil looks.

The foursome skillfully avoided making eye contact with the girl who doesn't seem to be over the events that took place in the Hospital Wing - as Hermione looked particularly happy and slightly smug.

"You're not the only ones, Ginny and Dean had quite a nasty argument a few nights ago before calling it quits as well," explained Hermione. much to Ron's joy.

Class started shortly after that, so Harry and Veronica turned to face the front again, relaxed into each other as Harry rests his hand on his girlfriend's thigh and they share a secret grin.

oOo

The school seemed to be in a big commotion as lunch began, students talking loudly and whispering about the same thing.

Veronica didn't have to question what it was for long though as a random Gryffindor yelled across the room "Katie!"

Everyone simultaneously turned to face the double doors at the back of the room, and sure enough, Katie Bell was standing there, fresh-faced and healthy once more.

A cheer rang out from around the room as the girl made her way to the Gryffindor table.

Harry got up, eager to talk to her, and Veronica almost followed, until she noticed a scared frozen Draco, who has also noticed Katie.

However, unlike the rest of the room who were happy and eager to talk to Katie - the Slytherin took one more look at the girl in the middle of the crowd and started running in the opposite direction.

Getting up to go after the obviously distraught Draco, Veronica saw that Harry had also seen Draco run away, and quickly ended his conversation with Katie and took off after him.

Panic flowed through the Hufflepuff, and she quickly tried to follow the boys but the crowds of students in the Great Hall blocked her way.

After spending far too long trying to escape through the floods of people she finally appears in the Entrance Hall, but both of the boys were nowhere to be found.

Veronica was completely overwhelmed with emotions and just ran up the stairs towards the only place she knows Draco would head towards to get away from everyone- the Room of Requirement.

As she was making her way up the stairs, one floor away from her original destination, she heard a shattering of wood and porcelain.

Without thinking, she sprinted in the direction of the noises, not freezing in fear, nor turning and walking away as she would've done a couple of years ago.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Harry's shout broke through the crashes, just as the Hufflepuff launched herself through the door to the boy's bathroom.

The sight before her sent shivers down her spine as she took in the familiar scenes.

Wooden stall doors were splintered and littered the floor as water spilt out of the cracked pipes from the toilets that were smashed into the stone walls.

But that isn't what devastated her the most.

Ignoring Harry's wide worried eyes, who was glancing between her sudden appearance and the commotion he caused, she stumbled over to Draco, her knees giving out as she neared his fallen body.

The blond boy was lying eagle spread on the ground, his body shaking weakly through his sobs, blood rapidly leaking through his soaked white shirt, turning it and everything around him red.

A broken shriek left her mouth as the blood leaked over her legs and socks, her shoes already waterlogged.

"Ronnie," Harry whispered as he stepped closer to her, resting his hand on her shoulder as she curled inwards in dispair.

She whipped her head towards her boyfriend, noticing how he was just standing there awkardly, confused by her reaction. As if a classmate wasn't slowly dying in front of them.

"Why are you just standing there?!" she exclaims, "get HELP!" she screamed towards him.

"Wha- Who?" he asks, his face empty in shock as he looks around, wondering how they got here.

"A professor, a prefect, ANYONE!" after another moment of silence she stares at him dumbfounded, "NOW!"

With that Harry shakes out of his slump and turns, splashing through the inches of water flooding into the hallway now.

Veronica leans over, her eyes connecting with Draco's, but they were worryingly blank, as he blinked up at the ceiling, not even reacting once she appeared in his view.

Before she knew it, Snape appeared in the entranceway, glancing at her with an exasperated expression.

She flung herself out of his way as he pulled his wand out and leaned towards Draco with a determined look in his eyes.

Tears started to blur her vision, and the sound of her heart racing echoed around her ears.

The surroundings became cloudy, and the faint sound of Snape trying to heal Draco through the whimpers of the injured Malfoy, and her own whimpers, faded away.

Before long she was on her own, the two Slytherins whisked away to the Hospital Wing, with water still spouting out around her.

Harry waded his way back in, a thick tension enveloped the room as he cautiously stepped towards her.

Only when his hands were placed on her shoulders did she collapse into his chest, sobbing out of shock and fear of what she had just witnessed. She could barely feel the hands rubbing her back trying to comfort her.

After she had finally calmed down, she looked up into the Gryffindor's confused but guilty eyes, and she pulled away from his embrace.

"Wh- what was that?" she asked weakly, the question stumping the boy, and he paused for a long moment, trying to think of an appropriate answer.

She saw him struggling to respond but decided not to intervene.

"Th - um - I saw the spell - it - he -" Harry spluttered and forced the words out eventually, "The spell saif 'for enemies' so I just - yeah."

Veronica was at her boiling point.

"HARRY! I can't believe th-" she took a deep breath, trying to control her anger and think about what he's just said.

"Do you not realise how _dangerous_ it is to just read a spell that a) you don't know what it does and b) you have no _idea_ who wrote it?!" The boy was now refusing to look her in the eye as she flailed her arms around.

"How have you not learned from Tom Riddle's diary - or even have become more _careful_ since VOLDEMORT has returned and is actively trying to kill you?!"

The Hufflepuff felt like she was talking to a child or at least someone who couldn't understand that their actions have consequences.

Harry didn't reply straight away, causing Veronica to throw her arms in the air and stormed away, passing Snape on her way to the Hospital Wing as he stormed towards the boys' toilets.

oOo


	54. Chapter 53

oOo

Draco's body was finally still, too still for Veronica's liking.

Peeking around the doorframe into to the Hospital Wing was the only place Veronica stayed for the next few hours, not taking her eyes off of the pale boy laying helpless, wrapped tightly in the thin and crisp sheets.

As the news spread around the school that Draco has been badly hurt, more and more people started walking past and going inside.

She didn't mind her classmates seeing her linger outside of the Hospital Wing, they all basically ignored her anyway.

If she wasn't so worried about Draco and conflicted over what she had just witnessed, Veronica may have been annoyed by the number of people who have never even spoken to the boy, but were now crowding around or slowly walking past just to get a glimpse at his frail body.

Everyone seemed to have turned up at least once. Everyone except the Slytherins who liked to call themselves Draco's closest friends.

The one thing that finally drew her from her thoughts, reminding her of where she was and why she really shouldn't be here was the cruel demanding voice pushing through the corridor.

Fear flooded through her as the tall and daunting figures of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy appeared, marching purposefully to the wooden doors she so happened to be standing right next to.

They soared passed her, not even moving their piercing gaze from Madame Pomfrey, who also heard them approach and is now waiting for them by Draco's bedside.

The medi-witch, shooed everyone away from the doorway, as she has done a few times already in the past few hours, except this time she shut the doors behind her, blocking people's view of the Malfoy family.

With their source of entertainment now hidden away, the crowd slowly filtered away, probably already bored and looking for the next piece of hot gossip.

But not Veronica.

The Hufflepuff sighed deeply, realising she may not be able to put her head to rest tonight, so sunk to the floor. Cross-legged and leaning against the cold stone walls.

She still couldn't understand what had happened. The image of Harry casting such a dangerous spell, the boy who held her so gently just the night before.

Despite her conflicting thoughts, she couldn't stop her cheeks from flushing bright as she remembered the way she felt after hearing her boyfriend say he loves her and taking their relationship to the next step.

It's all the more heartbreaking that such a perfect night can be ruined in just a few hours, leaving her alone and cold in an empty corridor.

Alone until the sound of footsteps echoed strongly, making her glance up as she makes eye contact with a furious-looking Professor Snape, the man looking even scarier from her view bunched up on the floor.

The man barely acknowledged her presence, walking straight passed her and opening the doors to the Hospital Wing without knocking.

"Severus, finally!" she heard, the voice of the Head of the Malfoy Household rumble out of the room, sending shivers through her as she shrunk even more into herself at the angry tone.

The Potion's Master storms into the room, his cape dramatically flared out as he walked forwards, his entrance seemingly very elegant. Except for the fact he left the doors open behind him, allowing any sound to be heard from the vacant corridor.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy, I'm here to inform you of how this situation has come to be," he speaks perfectly, almost as if it was rehearsed beforehand.

"Well, we're all ears. What happened to my son?!" The strong demand from Draco's mother is a sharp difference from the timid image she usually portrays.

The tense silence that followed was peculiar, to say the least.

Veronica, who was now pressed against the wall in the hopes that she was as close as possible without being seen, was curious as to why Snape had stopped speaking.

"For Merlin's sake, Severus! I haven't got all day, just say it!" Lucius Malfoy basically ordered.

Finally, Snape started, "It would seem Draco and Mr Potter were having a... disagreement when Mr Potter decided to use an unregistered and hereby forbidden spell on Draco."

A gasp and a sob that was obviously from Draco's mother stopped Snape briefly in his explanation but he carried on regardless, "luckily I turned up in time or you would be receiving much more ... disastrous news."

She could hear someone pacing up and down by this point, but still couldn't look in, fearing she would get caught.

"And what of, Potter?" Lucius asked, sounding as if he is physically holding back his disdain for Harry as he spits out the words.

"I was willing to give him a most severe punishment, but as always it would seem the Headmaster had ... other ideas," matching scoffs filled the room, "I have, for now, given Mr Potter detention every Saturday for the rest of the year."

That seems to be the breaking point for Narcissa who furiously exclaims "that's it?! Detention! Draco is seriously injured! He could've di-" she sobs and can't finish the rest of her sentence.

An awkward yet seemingly angry silence fills the room once again as the recipients of the news come to terms with what they have been told.

Professor Snape speaks up once again, "Madame Pomfrey, perhaps it would be best if we took a walk. To leave the Malfoy family alone for a little while." The woman agrees and they leave the room, turning the opposite direction to Veronica, so not noticing her presence.

"Enough is enough, boy. Wake up!" She hears the change in Lucius' tone from held back to extremely sour.

A thump soon followed his shout, sounding like something hitting the bed and soon enough a familiar mumble was heard as Draco is shaken awake.

"Hm? Wha- Father?!"

Veronica's heart breaks as she hears the difference between Draco's confused mumbles and his nervous greeting as she hears the sheets rustle quickly as if he was trying to sit up and straighten them out.

"Wh- What are you doing here?"

"Don't bother. I hope you know how disappointed we are in you, again!" Veronica is shocked at how thick Draco's father is laying it on.

"Father! I - I tried I - " Draco can't even finish his sentence before he's interrupted.

"Clearly not Draco. You let Potter knock you down. POTTER!" It sounds like Lucius is spitting at this point and Veronica can almost hear the Slytherin shaking in fear.

"He took me off guard - I wasn't prepared!" The poor boy is no match for the fury of his father and after just waking up after suffering a major blood loss and trauma his voice is weak.

"Do you not understand you need to be prepared at all times?! Has your aunt not taught you anything whilst I've been away?"

"Lucius!" Finally, Narcissa steps in, but instead of taking Draco's side, she is trying to guilt-trip her own son. "Listen, Draco. Your father and I need you to stay strong. You are the only one that can get our family back where we should be."

Draco must reply silently as she softly carries on, her condescending tone making Veronica scrunch her face up in disgust.

"Then you must understand that you can't be showing these weaknesses. Your father is right, Bellatrix taught you so much this summer. Why aren't you focusing on that?"

The young blond tries to argue once more, but he is quieter than ever now "I did - I almost managed to use the Cruciatus before he - "

"ALMOST, Draco! Almost isn't good enough! And now look where we are. You need to be faster and stronger than all of the filth at this school!"

Draco sighs softly, exhaustion finally peeking through "Yes father."

But Veronica doesn't stay to hear the end of that conversation, in fact as soon as she hears that bombshell, she takes off back to her common room.

oOo

A/N: I know its been way too long! I apologise but I'm trying to focus on University and exams are so HARD! :(

Also, I know Lucius isn't supposed to be out of Azkaban yet but let's just say he is? :/ its plot convenience and all that.


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